MOORESVILLE, Ind. (WIBC) – A teenager from Mooresville, who planned a school shooting on Valentine’s Day earlier this year, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday.

Trinity Shockley, who had been held in Morgan County for nine months, said she has been dealing with lots of mental health issues and bullying that led her to plan the attack. The judge also sentenced Shockley to five years of probation, emphasizing the potential harm her actions could have caused.

Shockley’s threats were directed to Mooresville High School.

Shockley apologized in court and expressed remorse for her actions, stating that she is receiving mental health treatment and taking medication.

Investigators say this case highlights the importance of public intervention in preventing such incidents and the need for ongoing mental health support for individuals like Shockley.

Shockley was also fined $590.

News 8 reached out to the Morgan County Prosecutor’s Office by phone and email on Monday but did not hear back by late afternoon.

Previous coverage from WISHTV.com

• Mooresville High School student arrested for planning Valentine’s Day mass shooting
• Mooresville student accused of plotting school shooting held without bond
• Mooresville student accused of planning school shooting takes plea deal

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance is considering a variety of governance options that would significantly dilute the power of the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board — potential changes that some community groups have rallied against.

Changing who oversees schools could be a key component to solving how district and charter schools could better share transportation and building resources. An authority governing both charter and district schools could set universal policy on transportation, discipline, students with disabilities, school accountability, and school closures.

The four options unveiled at Wednesday’s ILEA meeting differ when it comes to how much they would change the way schools are currently run. In addition to the elected board that runs Indianapolis Public Schools, the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, Education One at Trine University, and the Indiana Charter School Board authorize charter schools.

The ILEA, which state lawmakers established earlier this year, does not have the power to make policy but can make recommendations to state and local officials. The group is expected to recommend one of the four options during the week of Dec. 1, although it’s also possible it could combine two or more of the options.

While the IPS school board hasn’t issued an opinion on the options, several organizations representing teachers and parents have called for an elected board to oversee both charter and district schools. Groups that support charter schools have not coalesced around support for a particular option.

The first option would keep an elected IPS school board, which would serve as the charter authorizer responsible for making policies for building usage and transportation. District and charter schools would report up to the board, and charter schools whose applications were denied could appeal to the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

The second option would create a “collaborative compact advisory board” consisting of appointees from the mayor, charter schools, and the IPS school board. While IPS and charter schools would retain their individual school boards, both sectors would report to the advisory board, which would serve as charter authorizer and set policy.

A third model would create an Indianapolis Education Authority, led by a secretary of education appointed by the mayor. Underneath the secretary of education would be a nine-member policymaking board — also appointed by the mayor — that would serve as the charter authorizer. The mayor would select four of these members from the current seven-member elected IPS board.

A fourth option would replace the elected IPS board with members appointed by the mayor. This appointed board would serve as the charter authorizer, although appeals could be sent to the Indianapolis Charter School Board.

Several groups supportive of both district and charter schools have previously urged the ILEA to consider various options for governance. Here are the reactions to the options unveiled Wednesday from a few major community groups, in alphabetical order:

Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America

In a statement, the Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America — which has run a “Fully Funded, Fully Public” campaign to support traditional IPS schools — did not select any of the four options as the best choice.

Instead, it called for a fully elected school board to serve as charter authorizer without the opportunity for denied charter schools to appeal to the OEI. The school board would operate facilities and transportation for all school types.

“Under this plan, charter students and parents will finally have an accountable board that represents them democratically without sacrificing their school choice,” the group said. “Similarly, IPS and innovation school parents will have the flexibility to exercise school choice without exiting their stable public school system.

Indianapolis Education Association

In a statement, the Indianapolis Education Association said the first option allowing IPS to serve as the charter authorizer is the best.

“This ensures that governance is responsible to the people that they serve and provides a clear structure for community engagement when the time for new programming in specific parts of the city is necessary,” the teacher’s union said. “IEA feels that any attempt to outnumber an elected body that serves IPS is harmful to the community and a board with more appointees than elected officials sends a message that the community can’t be trusted with our schools.”

IPS Parent Council

Kristen Phair of the IPS Parent Council, a roughly 400-member parent organization that formed to support IPS during the last legislative session, said the only option her group would support is the one in which IPS is the sole charter authorizer.

“We just don’t want to see local control diluted by appointees,” she said.

The council circulated an online letter signed by over 700 IPS parents this week that suggested that IPS become the sole authorizer of all charter schools within district boundaries.

IPS school board

School board president Angelia Moore said the board hasn’t had time yet to meet in executive session to discuss the governance options.

She said she is focused on a lawsuit by Attorney General Todd Rokita alleging that IPS hindered federal authorities in the deportation of a man whose son was an IPS student. The board is seeking the public’s support as it crafts a response to the lawsuit.

The Mind Trust

In a statement, the leader of the nonprofit Mind Trust that has helped launch many charter schools in Indianapolis did not give an opinion on overall governance.

“We are pleased to see discussion of an independent facilities and transportation authority, which should exist without consolidating system-level governance,” said CEO Brandon Brown.

Brown also emphasized two separate letters that charter school leaders sent to the ILEA this week.

In one, seven leaders of independent charter schools opposed limiting charter authorization to one authorizer. In the other, nine leaders of charters in the IPS Innovation Network suggested the mayor’s office and the Indiana Charter School Board serve as the only authorizers within IPS borders.

“Out of respect for the ILEA’s work, we will withhold further judgment until the final recommendations are released,” Brown said.

(CNN) — A woman who stabbed her sixth-grade classmate to win favor with a fictional internet character named “Slender Man” more than a decade ago has been taken into custody, a day after cutting off her monitoring bracelet and leaving a group home where she’d been living, police said.

Morgan Geyser, 23, was found Sunday at a truck stop in Posen, Illinois – roughly 20 miles south of Chicago, Posen police told CNN. She was found with another person, whom police did not identify.

“There is no longer a need to search for Morgan Geyser at this time,” police in Madison, Wisconsin, said in a statement late Sunday. Police said they received confirmation around 10:34 p.m. Sunday that Geyser had been taken into custody in Illinois.

Geyser was last seen in a residential neighborhood on the west side of Madison around 8 p.m. Saturday with an adult acquaintance, police said in an earlier statement.

In a crime that stunned the nation, Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier, both 12 at the time of the crime, lured their classmate into a park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 2014, where they stabbed her 19 times to impress Slender Man, a boogeyman for the internet age.

The victim, Peyton Leutner, was also 12 at the time and survived, crawling out of the woods to safety where she was discovered by a passing bicyclist.

The trio spent a lot of time together, Leutner previously told ABC. Geyser constantly talked about Slender Man, a character that terrified Leutner, she said.

The night of the stabbing, Leutner had gone to Geyser’s home for a slumber party to celebrate her birthday.

At age 15, Geyser pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted first-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors to be placed in a mental institution instead of serving jail time.

At her sentencing in 2018, Geyser apologized to Leutner and her family.

“I never meant this to happen,” a tearful Geyser said. “I hope that she is doing well.”

In January, a judge ordered she could be released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, where she spent nearly seven years, The Associated Press reported.

Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, had urged her to turn herself in immediately in a statement Sunday. “We worked too hard to secure her freedom for her to continue on this path,” Cotton added.

It is unclear how Geyser broke out of the group home or who helped her, Cotton said in a video posted to social media.

In August, a facility in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, declined to take her due to negative publicity they were receiving about the potential move, according to CNN affiliate WMTV, but Madison police confirmed with the news station Geyser is currently living at a group home in Madison, on the same street where she was last seen.

Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree homicide due to mental illness or defect in the stabbing as part of a plea agreement. She was committed to 25 years in a mental hospital, the AP reported, but was released in 2021 on condition she live with her father and wear a GPS monitor.

This story has been updated with additional information.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The dazzling spectacle Winterlights has returned to the Newfields grounds for its ninth year, running from now until Jan. 4.

Over two million lights will illuminate the skies over Newfields and the Lilly House, whose exterior light show plays in time with music conducted by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

News 8 joined leaders at Newfields Monday morning to get a tour of Winterlights.

Jonathan Wright, director of The Garden and Fairbanks Park for Newfields, says the work to get Winterlights up and running starts months in advance.

“People will not believe this, we start putting up the lights in July because it’s the only way we can get lights all the way up the tips of the branches,” Wright explained. “We get all of the big trees completed before we launch Harvest.”

Wright said this year, the Lilly House is all decked out with different themes. The walk through experience around the campus, Wright adds, is a great spot for families to create memories during the holidays.

“(The Lilly House) is really just done over the top, we have some new things in there as well,” he said.
“We try to create a holiday tradition for everyone and we’re just so thrilled this incredible community comes together.”

Winterlights will also have several themed nights throughout the season. For that information and tickets, you can find that here.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon announced Monday it is investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over possible breaches of military law after the former Navy pilot joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for troops to defy “illegal orders.”

The Pentagon’s statement, posted on social media, cited a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court-martial or other measures.

It is extraordinary for the Pentagon, which until President Donald Trump’s second term had usually gone out of its way to act and appear apolitical, to directly threaten a sitting member of Congress with investigation. It comes after Trump ramped up the rhetoric last week by accusing the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post days after the video was released.

In its statement Monday, the Pentagon suggested that Kelly’s statements in the video interfered with the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces” by citing the federal law that prohibits such actions.

“A thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures,” the statement said.

In the video posted last Tuesday, Kelly was one of six Democratic lawmakers who have served in the military or intelligence community to speak “directly to members of the military.” The other lawmakers are Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan, who are seen as possible future aspirants for higher office and elevated their political profiles with the video’s wide exposure.

Kelly, who was a fighter pilot before becoming an astronaut and then retiring at the rank of captain, told troops that “you can refuse illegal orders,” while other lawmakers in the video said they needed troops to “stand up for our laws … our Constitution.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Kelly was facing investigation because he is the only one of the lawmakers who formally retired from the military and is still under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction.

“Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately,” Hegseth said on his personal X account. Of the wider group, he added that “their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger.”

Kelly’s office did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment on the Pentagon investigation. Speaking Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Kelly said Trump’s words were “very serious” and “carry tremendous weight,” adding that “because of what he says there is now increased threats against us.”

His fellow Democratic Arizona senator, Ruben Gallego, decried the Trump administration for targeting Kelly after he “dedicated his life to serving this country with honor.”

“Mark told the truth — in America, we swear an oath to the Constitution, not wannabe kings,” Gallego posted on social media.

Kelly and the other lawmakers didn’t mention specific circumstances in the video last week, but its release comes as the Trump administration has ordered the military to blow up small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean accused of ferrying drugs and continues its attempts at deploying National Guard troops into U.S. cities despite some legal setbacks.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said last week that “our military follows orders, and our civilians give legal orders.”

Troops, especially uniformed commanders, do have specific obligations to reject orders that are unlawful, if they make that determination.

While commanders have military lawyers on their staffs to consult with in making such a determination, rank-and-file troops who are tasked with carrying out those orders are rarely in a similar position and often have to rely on their superiors.

Broad legal precedence also holds that just following orders — colloquially known as the “Nuremberg defense,” as it was used unsuccessfully by senior Nazi officials to justify their actions under Adolf Hitler — doesn’t absolve troops.

Yet, there has been little reaction online from troops to the lawmakers’ video.

A former service member who helps run an online military forum and spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation said the lawmakers’ message is unlikely even to reach troops because the video was posted only on X and was far too long to be reposted on platforms like TikTok where troops actually consume information.

___

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

Black Friday isn’t just about sales anymore — it’s about the freebies. Major retailers are rolling out perks for the first shoppers through the door, from gift cards to swag bags to instant-win surprises worth hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars.

Here’s your updated roundup of all confirmed in-store doorbuster giveaways for Black Friday 2025.

Kohl’s — First 200 Customers Get Instant-Win Kohl’s Cash

Kohl’s is going big this year.

• The first 200 customers at every Kohl’s store on Black Friday will receive a surprise instant-win Kohl’s Cash gift, ranging from $5 to $100.
• Ten shoppers nationwide will score the grand prize: a $10,000 cash win.
• On top of that, all shoppers can earn $15 in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent during the Black Friday week event.
  This is one of the biggest early-bird promotions of 2025 and is expected to draw heavy lines before doors open.

Target — First 100 Guests Get Holiday Tote Bags + Surprise Prizes

Target is bringing back a fan-favorite giveaway for early shoppers.

• The first 100 guests in line at every store will receive a limited-edition iridescent holiday tote filled with small freebies.
• Inside those bags, 10 will be “golden bags” — each containing a larger prize valued between $99 and $350, including items like gift cards, headphones, beauty tools, and mini appliances.

Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s — First 250 Get Free Gift Cards

Outdoors retailers are known for some of the most generous early-bird giveaways.

• The first 250 people in each store will receive a free gift card valued anywhere from $10 to $500.
• Families can also take advantage of free kids’ activities and photos with Santa as part of the store’s holiday setup.

Macy’s — Early Shoppers Get Reward Cards

While Macy’s doesn’t specify an exact number, stores will hand out a limited number of Macy’s Reward Cards to early Black Friday visitors.
The cards vary in value and are available while supplies last.

Lowe’s — Free Holiday Item for Early Shoppers

Lowe’s is expected to bring back its tradition of offering a free holiday item to early-morning customers.
In previous years this has included boxes of seasonal décor, lighting bundles, and gift sets — often valued around $100 or more.
Quantities are limited and vary by store.

Meijer — Surprise Coupons & Bonus Rewards

Meijer continues its Black Friday coupon tradition.

• Early shoppers may receive register-print coupons worth significant savings on a future purchase.
• Additionally, select gift card purchases can award bonus mPerks rewards, effectively giving early shoppers “free money back” later.

JCPenney — Freebies All Day With Timed Giveaways

JCPenney is running multiple Black Friday giveaway events throughout the day, each tied to a specific time. Shoppers must be inside the store at those times for a chance to win.

Freebie Schedule:

• 5:00 a.m. – Chance to win a $500 off coupon and a free snow globe.
• 9:00 a.m. – Chance to win a free Cuisinart coffee maker.
• 1:00 p.m. – Chance to win a free pair of lab-grown diamond stud earrings.
• 5:00 p.m. – Chance to win a free Sutra hair styler.

These giveaways make JCPenney one of the few retailers offering multiple chances to score something big throughout the day.

BIGGBY Coffee — Free Swag Bag With Purchase

Showing up early at BIGGBY Coffee can get you a free swag bag with a drink purchase.
Bags typically include coupons, stickers, a small seasonal item, and a branded cup.
While not a “first come” promo, quantities are very limited and tend to run out quickly.

Top 5 Amazon Black Friday Deals (2025)

Amazon doesn’t do freebies — but their online Black Friday deals compete with any doorbuster in value. Here are five of the best early deals available this year:

1. Up to 50% Off Amazon Devices

Echo speakers, Fire tablets, Kindle e-readers and Ring doorbells are heavily discounted — many at or near their lowest price ever.

2. Robot Vacuum Deals Near 50% Off

Multiple models from top brands are marked down almost half-price, including smart-mapping and pet-hair versions.

3. Le Creuset, Ninja, & Breville Kitchen Deals

Premium kitchen brands are seeing deep cuts — some items discounted 40–60% during Amazon’s Black Friday week.

4. Levi’s, GAP, Ugg & Coach Fashion Deals

Amazon’s fashion category is running major brand markdowns, with select apparel and accessories reaching up to 70–80% off.

5. Bestselling Beauty: Dyson & Laifen Alternatives on Sale

Hair tools, skincare gift sets and viral beauty gadgets are heavily reduced — many perfect for holiday gifting.

This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and edits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness.

NEW CARLISLE, Ind. (WISH) — Amazon on Monday confirmed plans to invest $15 billion to build a new data center campuses, with the goal of creating 1,100 jobs and advancing artificial intelligence innovation.

A news release issued Monday afternoon said, “These cloud computing and AI innovation campuses join a growing Amazon operations footprint across the state that now includes 13 fulfillment and sortation centers, 11 delivery stations, and data centers in New Carlisle, Indiana.”

The addition at the St. Joseph County campus comes a month after Amazon opened an $11 billion facility, called Project Rainier, for AI model training for its customer Anthropic, at New Carlisle.

Also just a month ago, Amazon celebrated the opening of an advanced robotics center in Bristol in nearby Elkhart County, representing a $200 million investment.

The release said the New Carlisle investment will add up to 3 gigawatts of data center capacity in the region, with the new facility requiring 2.4 gigawatts. The release also said the facility is expected to support thousands of jobs in the data center supply chain.

Amazon and NIPSCO have established a framework to power Amazon data centers, helping to bring more connectivity and faster speeds locally and across the U.S., while delivering substantial benefits to existing customers. The release said Amazon’s partnership with electricity and natural gas utility NIPSCO aims to provide $1 billion in cost savings to Indiana residents and businesses over 15 years. The agreement with NIPSCO represents approximately $1 billion in cost savings over 15 years to existing NIPSCO electric customers.

Republican Gov. Mike Braun, in a statement in the release, said, “This project will create good-paying jobs for Hoosiers, expand our tax base, and strengthen the economic foundation for communities across the state.”

Braun later issued another statement from his office, calling the project “a massive win”: “This agreement will ensure a surplus in new energy development that will deliver real savings to Hoosier ratepayers.”

Since 2010, Amazon said it has invested more than $31.3 billion in Indiana, contributing more than $29.9 billion to the state’s gross domestic product — the total value of finished goods and services — and supporting 24,500 full- and part-time jobs, plus 27,500 indirect jobs.

David Zapolsky, Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer, said in a statement in the release, “By expanding our advanced cloud infrastructure in Indiana, we are investing in Indiana’s technological future through job creation, skills training initiatives, and community engagement programs.”

Amazon also said in the release that will bring to local communities its training and education programs, including data center technician programs, fiber optic fusion splicing workshops, and awareness and learning opportunities for K-12 schools in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Amazon’s investment will also include support for Indiana community colleges, technical schools, universities, and workforce development organizations to design, develop, and grow training programs and work-based learning opportunities. Amazon said its Community Workforce Accelerator training centers support careers in cloud computing infrastructure with AWS (Amazon Web Services) and its network of contractors, vendors, and partners.

The town of New Carlisle, with 1,900 residents, is about a 25-minute drive west of downtown South Bend.

Earlier Monday, Amazon also announced plans to invest up to $50 billion to expand AI and supercomputing capabilities for U.S. government customers of its cloud unit, Amazon Web Services. The Monday announcements are two separate investments, Amazon said.

Reuters contributed to this report. This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and edits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness.

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(INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE) — A year after his prison sentence, former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel’s belongings have sold for millions toward the $3.1 million in criminal restitution he owes.

The funds — now sitting in court-controlled escrow accounts — have come from sweeping liquidations of Noel’s properties, classic cars, firearms and various luxury items.

But civil judgements against Noel are rolling in, too. In October, he was ordered to pay back more than $900,000 — plus interest — to reimburse the county jail’s commissary fund. Another $122,000 was awarded earlier this month to resolve Noel’s mismanagement of his brothers estate. Numerous other civil cases are still pending and could result in other restitution mandates.

Noel pleaded guilty in 2024 to 27 felony charges — including corrupt business influence, theft, tax evasion and official misconduct — and was ordered to repay millions to New Chapel EMS, Indiana tax officials and state and local law enforcement agencies.

He’s currently serving his 15-year sentence at the New Castle Correctional Annex. Three of those years will be suspended to probation, and he could be released earlier with good behavior and programming credits.

Findings from a lengthy Indiana State Police investigation found that Noel used millions of taxpayer dollars from the Utica Volunteer Firefighters Association and New Chapel EMS to buy cars, planes, vacations, clothing and other personal luxury purchases. Investigators said public funds were also used to pay for college tuition and child support.

The disgraced former sheriff was additionally accused of tasking county employees with jobs related to his personal collection of classic cars. At least 40 vehicles were confiscated by law enforcement, including a bevy of classics, such as two 1970 Plymouth Superbirds, a 1959 Corvette and 1966 and 1968 Chargers, according to search warrant returns.

More than $2.7 million has been raised so far through a series of auctions and forced property sales overseen by the Clark and Washington county courts, with most of the proceeds held until a special judge determines how to divide the funds among criminal-restitution recipients and claimants in ongoing civil litigation.

Not all of that money is available for restitution due to outstanding mortgages, auction fees and other obligations.

Escrow accounts now exceed $1.2 million

Two escrow accounts maintained in Washington County hold the bulk of restitution dollars. As of Nov. 20, balances reached $1,171,415.10 in one account and $74,380.97 in another. Those accounts contain auction proceeds and other property-sale revenue tied to Noel’s criminal case.

Clark County also holds escrow funds from multiple pre-judgment property sales — including two Jeffersonville-area homes sold earlier this year.

Any funds deposited after liens, mortgages, taxes and fees will eventually be distributed once the Indiana Attorney General’s civil lawsuit — alleging years of financial misconduct surrounding New Chapel EMS, a nonprofit ambulance service that contracted with Clark and Floyd counties — is resolved.

Court records show judges have so far only authorized limited withdrawals from escrow to cover essential expenses on Noel’s remaining unsold property, the home at 3001 Old Tay Bridge Road in Jeffersonville. In July, Special Judge Roger Duvall approved the release of $2,000 to Lopp Realtors to maintain the property. In November, the judge approved another $1,000 for the same purpose.

Nearly all of Noel’s Indiana real estate has already been liquidated. 

A Utica-area property sold for $800,000 in January. Included in the sale were adjacent properties on Old Salem Road in Jeffersonville — a pole barn used to store dozens of vehicles and a log-cabin-style home where family members lived.

In March, Noel’s 7,982-square-foot Jeffersonville mansion sold for $635,000, less than the $699,000 the Noels paid in 2022.

Still unresolved, however, is the Old Tay Bridge Road home, which is the subject of a foreclosure case filed in October by MSR Asset Vehicle LLC. The property carries tax debt and a significant mortgage — more than $261,000 still owed, according to court documents.

Separately, Noel’s Naples, Florida, residence is under contract for roughly $570,000, though that property also has an outstanding mortgage. Once it closes, its net proceeds are expected to be added to the escrow holdings.

Car auctions generated more than $1.27 million

But the biggest single boost to Noel’s restitution came from the sale of 43 classic cars, which brought in $1,277,950 during a two-day auction in May. The auction took place in French Lick as part of Freije & Freije Auctioneers’ annual “Big Boy Toy Auction,” but the proceeds were supervised by Washington County’s special-judge appointed in the Noel case.

Among the highest-value sales were a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon that sold for $160,000, two 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbirds that fetched $162,500 and $175,000, and a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner that brought $100,000.

Court documents describe how Noel used $52,504 from his brother’s estate to buy the Roadrunner, then reimbursed the estate by withdrawing nearly the same amount from New Chapel EMS the following month.

Vehicles seized from Noel’s pole barn — including a 1959 Chevy Corvette, a 1968 Dodge Charger and several restored muscle cars — rounded out the nearly $1.3 million total.

Earlier, in January, Freije & Freije auctioned off more than 150 of Noel’s firearms, dozens of custom suits and several Rolex watches. 

Many of the suits — some lined with sheriff’s emblems or embroidered with Noel’s name — sold for around $200 despite initial prices in the thousands. Auction officials said all items moved in less than two hours.

A later online auction in March brought in $72,425. More than 100 people previewed the items in person, and 404 bidders competed for nearly 300 lots, which included a heavy-duty tool chest that sold for $3,250, as well as sheriff’s plaques, furniture and personal items from Noel’s pole barn.

Court approves separate payouts

The escrow accounts are also being tapped to resolve civil cases lodged by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, which seek to force Noel to pay back the state agencies he allegedly took public funds from to pay for personal spending.

In one lawsuit, Rokita argued that Noel should be required to reimburse the Clark County jail commissary fund more than $900,000 for “funds misappropriated, diverted, or misapplied,” which were cited in an audit report filed by the State Board of Accounts last year.

Duvall ordered last month that Noel must pay a sum of $918,000 as punitive damages, in addition to $122,500 in interest. The judge’s order noted that additional annual statutory interest of 8% will be applied until the judgment is fully satisfied, meaning the total balance owed could top nearly $1.5 million by the time Noel is expected to be released from prison in June 2033.

The amount is in addition to the more than $3 million Noel agreed to pay as part of his criminal case.

The judge also ordered payout in a separate civil matter filed by Noel’s three nieces and nephew, who alleged that he mishandled their father’s estate funds after being appointed executor.

On Nov. 6, Duvall approved a $122,000 mediated settlement — including damages and attorney fees — and authorized the money to be released from escrow. 

In the ruling, Duvall wrote that the children “join a long list of persons and entities that have been damaged by the unlawful acts of Jamey Noel and family members.” 

He emphasized that the money originated from the sale of estate property and that paying the children did not come at the expense of victims connected to the New Chapel EMS scheme.

Noel agreed to a plea deal nearly a year after he was arrested and state police investigators raided his home in southern Indiana.

His agreement requires him to pay back $2,870,924 in public funds to the Utica Volunteer Firefighters Association, which did business as New Chapel EMS; $61,190 to the Clark County Sheriff’s Department; $173,155 to the Indiana Department of Revenue; and $35,245 to the Indiana State Police.

Court documents further point to at least $33,000 worth of public funds used by Noel to make contributions to various Republican candidates and campaigns between 2020 and 2023. Some of the candidates and campaignshave since been returned or donated those dollars elsewhere.

It’s up to the court to decide how restitution payments should be prioritized and how to reconcile claims across Noel’s multiple criminal and civil dockets. 

Until then, court officials said all remaining escrowed funds will remain frozen except for court-approved costs and payouts.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WISH) — The Fort Wayne Police Department is seeking the public’s help locating a missing 15-year-old last seen Sunday evening.

Aliyah Difilippo was described as a Hispanic female, 5 feet tall, and 110 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last noted wearing a black tank top, red and black pajama pants, and carrying a blanket.

Difilippo was last seen in Fort Wayne around 5:10 p.m. Sunday. She was believed to be in extreme danger and may need medical assistance.

Anyone with information was asked to contact the Fort Wayne Police Department at 260-427-1222 or 911.

LEISURE, Ind. (WISH) — A 40-year-old Elwood man died in a shooting early Sunday at a rural home in northwestern Madison County, the sheriff’s department said in a news release issued Monday afternoon.

Kurtis Rose was found dead in the home in the 8000 block of West County Road 1800 North. That’s near the unincorporated community of Leisure, about 7 miles north of the downtown area of the Madison County city of Elwood.

Chief Deputy Michael Warner said in the release that a 911 caller shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday reported he had shot another male in the home to intervene in a domestic situation. The two people who survived were cooperating with the investigation.

Warner said the case will be sent to the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

The identities of the other two residents involved have not been disclosed.

Specific details surrounding the domestic situation remained unclear.