The Indiana Supreme Court has denied Marshall County’s petition to hear the case of Neil Haeck against the State of Indiana.
Haeck who was the Superintendent of the Marshall County Highway Department was found guilty of one count of theft during a two-day jury trial in March of 2016.
Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman and his staff presented evidence show unaccounted money missing from the sale of scrap metal for $7,336.53 in 2012 and $5,014.88 in 2013.
During testimony Hack testified that he didn’t take any money and doesn’t know what happened to it.
It took the jury about an hour to come back with a unanimous decision of guilty and in June Marshall Superior Court Judge Robert Bowen sentenced Haeck to one year of home detention, 200 hours of community service, two years suspended and two years reporting probation, restitution, and court costs and fines.
In August of this year the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the theft conviction. In their decision the court said there was insufficient evidence of Haeck’s theft of over $12,000 from the sale of scrap metal.
The case was forwarded on the Indiana Supreme Court and reviewed. The decision of the Supreme Court was not unanimous, Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Associate Justice Steven David voted to grant the petition transfer.
Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman said, “While I respect the appellate courts’ decisions, I don’t believe that the perspective of a cross section of the community as embodied by the jury was given its due weight. It’s particularly disappointing as a Marshall County grand jury handed down an indictment, and a duly empanelled jury convicted after a well managed trial at which numerous witnesses, including Mr. Haeck, testified and whose credibility was weighted and assessed. Nevertheless, we respect the decision.”
