2 county employees arrested on forgery and misconduct charges
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police arrested two former Marion County Traffic Court bailiffs. They’re accused of forging documents to help people get out of traffic tickets.
Marion County prosecutors charged Evelyn Hughes and Carnetta Arthur with forgery and official misconduct. Hughes also faces multiple counts of bribery because she received money in exchange for her work. Prosecutors believe Hughes profited thousands of dollars. But say there is no evidence that Arthur received cash in exchange for dismissing cases.
Marion County Prosecutor’s Office Chief Trial Deputy Ryan Smears says the women forged the judges signature, and would then notify the BMV and creditors to dismiss traffic violations. He says they didn’t have permission from either prosecutors or the judge.
In multiple cases, Smears says Hughes received financial compensation for her work, “She was reaching out to friends and families saying she’d be willing to fix their traffic court cases by dismissing them if she was paid a fee.”
That fee, Smears says, varied based on how much money the person on the other end was willing and could afford to pay. Hughes and Arthur were both Marion County Traffic Court bailiffs. According to Smears, Arthur even dismissed one of Hughes’ cases as a favor.
“There is a greater standard. There is a greater level of accountability that’s outlined in the judicial ethics as well as what they agreed to when they signed on to become judicial employees,” he said.
The investigation began for a number of reasons including; judges noticed irregularities in cases and one person went to the BMV only to find, their case was not resolved.
“Our investigators then began the process of essentially reviewing multiple orders that had been signed by particular judges associated with entries that were made by these employees,” said Smears.
Hughes faces 49 counts including; bribery, forgery and official misconduct. Arthur faces 14 counts including; forgery and official misconduct.
In an unrelated case, prosecutors also charged another former bailiff, Crystal Jones, with official misconduct and two counts of computer trespass. Investigators believe she accessed law enforcement databases for personal use.
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