According to Indianapolis-based news source 93.1FM WIBC, the former Indiana State Police Superintendent, Doug Carter, says the investigation into Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter’s misuse of jail commissary funds took pause after Mike Braun became Governor of Indiana earlier this year.
“Somebody in those orbits talked about this,” Carter told WIBC’s Kendall and Casey. “That’s the only logical conclusion, and it’s irrefutable.”
These details were shared after Carter, who recently retired from the ISP Superintendent position back in January of 2025, appeared on the Kendall and Casey Podcast that is hosted by 93.1FM WIBC.
As Governor Mike Braun is well-known for being a lifelong resident of Dubois County, the local connection and significance was not lost on Carter.
“A logical conclusion with anybody that reads this, or sees this, or hears it, would be there was some level of interference,” Carter said.
Carter also spoke about longtime detective Jeffrey Herron, whose influence at the agency has been reduced and who was pushed out and made the target of an internal investigation — even though Carter says Herron was simply doing solid police work. Herron put together an 88-page probable cause affidavit for the case. (93.1FM WIBC).
See details on the original misuse case announcement here:
Originally released in August 2024, a special audit by the State Board of Accounts found that Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter misused jail commissary funds, leading to his repayment of $16,774.71.
The audit revealed that from 2021 to 2023, Kleinhelter used nearly $9,000 for his wife’s travel to law enforcement conferences and over $7,900 for employee gifts like Visa gift cards and Blackstone grills, all without proper approval.
In response, the county council formed a committee to review future expenditures, highlighting a need for better internal controls. The State Board of Accounts stated that the travel expenses and gift purchases required approval from the Dubois County Council before using the funds.
They classified these expenditures as misappropriation, making them the personal responsibility of the official under Indiana law.
The later ruling for this case determined no criminal activity had occurred by Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter.
Carter said what really caught investigators’ attention was the involvement of Kleinhelter’s wife.
“And then how the money was moving — out of commissary to personal accounts, personal accounts back to commissary, personal credit cards. That was all done through forensic evaluation,” he explained.
Carter said Anthony Scott, who was appointed the 21st superintendent of the Indiana State Police, has not discussed the case with him and won’t acknowledge it.
At one point, Carter said he pulled an investigator off the case when progress stalled and put Herron on it. That’s when things started moving forward. However, Carter added, the state police later targeted Herron with an internal investigation.
“They started an internal investigation that just ended here in the past few weeks,” Carter said. “He got moved to a job that doesn’t matter.” (93.1FM WIBC).
Carter shared why now is the time to share this information with the public: “I’ve always tried to live my life above reproach, and above even a perception of impropriety, and a lot of things happened on my watch. I was the superintendent for twelve years, the longest in the history of the agency. I love the agency to this day, and I love its people even more.”
“And we always tried to stand for what was right and do things the correct way no matter the outcome. So, we didn’t have an anticipated outcome of almost anything, and we’ve talked much about Delphi and about Flora, about a lot of high profile cases. And there was a lot of criticism at the time about a lot of things, and that was okay. I wasn’t afraid of that. But even though I’m retired now, and by the way, I retired, I wanted to. Led with a forty year career, a long time…”
“And as I watched a couple of events that occurred and cases that occurred on my watch, I’m mortified at how they’ve been handled. The right thing to do, is what I’m doing. The wrong thing would be to do nothing.”
The original story and podcast episodes cited in this story are courtesy of 93.1FM WIBC, The Kendall and Casey Podcast, and written by Ryan Hedrick on July 25th, 2025.
See original article here: https://wibc.com/688595/former-isp-boss-braun-froze-kleinhelter-case/
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