INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The family of Constable Denise Hatch is blaming her attorney for a new felony she is charged with after Hatch was arrested for illegally carrying a handgun while facing a felony charge in two other cases.

At the end of a court hearing Tuesday morning, Hatch stood up in a yellow jail jump suit and chanted, “Free Denise. Free Denise” at her family and friends in the gallery.

Bobby Kern said, “There’s three sides to a story. There’s Denise’s’ side. There’s the state’s sides, and, in the middle, we find the truth, and the truth will prevail. It always does.”

Kern is a friend of Hatch and was in court to support the constable for Marion County’s Center Township. Kern says Hatch is not at fault for the new charges of illegally carrying a firearm.

“She was under the impression they lifted it because the attorney had given her wrong information,” Kern said.

Over the phone, Hatch’s attorney, Mark Nicholson, told I-Team 8 he could not discuss what he advised Hatch following her previous charges, citing attorney client privilege, but he said, in general, “Any advice I give to a client aligns with the law. I would never advise a client to violate the law. It’s unethical and it’s not how I practice law.”

Hatch faces a felony charge for official misconduct in connection to an altercation at a Kroger in August.
She’s accused of trying to exchange rotten vegetables for fresh ones without paying for them while using her position as constable as justification.

Court records for that case show the judge barred Hatch from carrying a handgun while she faced charges.

On Saturday, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detective saw her with a gun and arrested her.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office asked the court for a higher-than-standard bond. The judge granted it, setting her bond at $25,000 cash.

Vincent Hatch Jr. said, “I feel like it’s totally egregious that her bond has been set to $25,000 when there’s plenty of dangerous criminals who don’t have a bond set at half as much. I just want my mom to have a fair hearing. That’s all. I just want her to have a fair hearing.”

Hatch will be back in court Friday morning for another hearing.

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