(PULASKI CO.) – Late Wednesday night a Pulaski County jury acquitted former sheriff Michael Gayer on all counts after a three-day trial at which he faced various charges of theft, official misconduct, obstruction of justice, and various other public corruption charges.
“Justice was done in this case. Gayer was publicly lambasted since his 2016 indictment on 7 public corruption-related charges. The Special Prosecutor, Nelson Chipman from Marshall County, bit off more than he could chew, and Gayer’s legal defense brought a sledgehammer to the Special Prosecutor’s case.
Gayer had faithfully served this state as an Indiana State Trooper for 27 years, and 8 years as a two-term elected Sheriff for Pulaski County.
“He deserved better than this, and we want to thank the courageous jurors who stood up and did the right thing,” says Bryan L. Cook Attorney for Gayer “It’s really sick what they did to this local hero, this former law enforcement officer deserved better than a bogus indictment as his retirement “gift”. Many of his former law enforcement “friends” shunned him since he was indicted as well as many in the community as well. He deserved better after he faithful served this community for 35 years as law enforcement. Every first-year law student learns that a ‘prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich’. Nelson Chipman is in a position of great power and his actions can drastically affect a person’s life. His continued pursuit of Gayer through a trial was unfair in our view, and we highly doubt he learned any lessons from this due to the extraordinary degree of arrogance he demonstrated in this case.”
