Liberty Township Trustee Phyllis J. Shafer, 63, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning in Henry Circuit Court 2 to five counts of felony theft.
The township trustee’s arrest in February 2017 was the result of a several-month investigation by the Indiana State Police and the Indiana State Board of Accounts. Liberty Township is in eastern Henry County and includes the Millville community.
The State Police investigation began in early November 2016 after a State Board of Accounts audit found that Shafer had overpaid herself between 2013 and 2015. According to court documents, Shafer exerted unauthorized control of more than $10,000 during that time period.
She was originally charged with two counts theft as Class D felonies; three counts of theft as Level 6 Felonies, one count of official misconduct as a Class D Felony; two counts official misconduct as Level 6 Felonies and one count of theft as a Class A Misdemeanor.
Whether a criminal charge is classified as a Class or Level felony depends upon the date in which the alleged offense occurred. Indiana Criminal Code changed in 2014.
Prosecuting the case for Henry County was deputy prosecutor Jeremy Bell. Shafer’s defense attorney was Sean Row.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, Shafer pleaded guilty to five counts of theft total, two as Class D Felonies and three as Level 6 felonies. Four other charges, including all three official misconduct charges and the Class A Misdemeanor theft charge, were dismissed per a plea agreement.
For each of the Class D Felonies, Henry Circuit Court 2 Judge Kit Crane sentenced Shafer to 548 days in Henry County Jail, 366 of which were suspended in place of formal probation. The remaining time, 182 days, is to be served on electronic monitoring with home detention through Henry County Community Corrections. Because of day-for-day credits given, that will amount to 91 days of actual time served on home detention.
For each of the Level 6 felony convictions, Shafer received one year in Henry County Jail, all of which was suspended in lieu of informal probation.
Shafer’s Level 6 Felony convictions will run concurrent to each other, meaning she will serve those sentences at the same time. Her Class D Felony convictions will also run concurrent to each other. However, the Level 6 Felony convictions and the Class D Felony convictions will run consecutive to each other, meaning she must finish serving one set of sentencing requirements before starting the next.
Shafer remains Liberty Township trustee until her term expires on Dec. 31, 2018. She did not seek re-election for 2019. In the recent general election, Libertarian Jamie Jo Owens ran unopposed for the position and is set to assume the role Jan. 1, 2019.