BRAZIL — A former Carmel police officer accused of making a fake Facebook page to post derogatory comments about a candidate for Clay County Sheriff and a special prosecutor have reached an agreement that could lead to the case being dismissed under certain stipulations.
The pretrial diversion agreement, filed Monday, means that the charges against Andrew Longyear will be dropped as long as he adheres to the terms of the agreement during a six-month period. If he fails to comply, the prosecution will resume.
An initial hearing scheduled for Tuesday at Clay Circuit Court was canceled after the two parties reached the agreement.
According to the agreement, Longyear will have to delete any fake Facebook profiles he created, including ones under three different names. He'll also have to notify the prosecutor's office of any changes to his address.
"Upon the completion of this program, the Prosecutor will dismiss the charges filed against the Defendant. If the Defendant fails to comply with all the above terms and conditions during a six (6) month period, prosecution will resume against the Defendant," the agreement states.
A copy of the full document is here:
Longyear was charged with identity deception, conversion and harassment by electronic communication after an investigation found he used photos of a Georgia man to post in the Brazil Indiana Chatter Facebook group about Josh Clarke, who is running for Clay County sheriff, and Emily Clarke, his wife, who is the current Clay County prosecutor.
He is barred from having any contact with Emily or Josh Clarke or the person whose photos and name he was using on Facebook, according to the terms of the agreement.
Longyear is charged in Clay County Court but the charges were filed by Ann Smith Mischler, a special prosecutor from Sullivan County.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Longyear told detectives he made the profile to remain anonymous and made the posts to share information he didn't think people knew about candidates.
The person whose photos and name Longyear was using told a state police detective they spoke with Josh and Emily Clarke and said they "seem like hard-working, honest and professional people," according to the affidavit. They also said he was upset someone would use their pictures and name to "diminish all their accomplishments."
Longyear resigned after the allegations came to light. It came after Carmel's police chief resigned and a deputy chief said he would retire after the chief recommended his termination.
WRTV Digital Content Producer Andrew Smith contributed to this report.
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