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Last updated on Monday, March 16, 2015
(SPENCER) - The Owen County Sheriff’s Office says a former deputy turned himself in Saturday and now faces a felony and a misdemeanor charge.
According to police, a northern Owen County landowner found a man stealing ginseng off his property on September 11, 2014. When Owen County Deputy Joseph R. Hinton responded to the call, he confiscated a "sizeable" amount of ginseng from the suspect.
When the landowner asked Hinton to return the stolen ginseng, Hinton said the stolen material would be turned over to the Indiana Conservation Officer for investigation, police say.
The landowner called the Indiana Conservation Officer about two weeks later to check the status of his stolen property. That initiated a lengthy investigation that revealed Hinton hadn't turned over the stolen ginseng or even commenced a report against the suspect.
Investigators report Hinton had instead kept the ginseng and sold it to a certified buyer for $336.
The Sheriff's Office issued an arrest warrant through the Owen Circuit Court for Hinton Friday.
He faces one count of official misconduct, a level 6 felony, and one count of theft, a class A misdemeanor.
He posted 10% of his $7,500 bond and was released on Saturday.
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