Grand Jury Indicts Armand

3/12/2008 3:00:00 PM Grand jury indicts Armand on criminal charges   Health Department administrator says charges a result of ‘a difference of opinion' Justin Helfrich Madison Courier Staff Writer A "difference of opinion" has led to a grand jury indictment of a prominent figure in Jefferson County. Ralph Armand, 73, county health department administrator and former Madison police chief and Jefferson County sheriff, was indicted Monday on two criminal charges: obstruction of justice, a class D felony, and false informing, a class B misdemeanor. According to information filed in Jefferson Circuit Court on Tuesday, Armand gave false information to an Indiana State trooper about whether Armand entered a barn under construction at 4577 E. Bloody Run Road with or without permission. The indictment alleges that Armand made statements to mislead Trooper Michael Kreinhop. Deputy Prosecutor D.J. Mote said the barn belongs to Tony Ardizzone. An initial hearing on the charges scheduled for this morning was waived. Soon afterward, Armand was booked into the Jefferson County Jail and released on his own recognizance, which means he did not have to post bail.  A pretrial hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 21 and a jury trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 19. Armand's attorney George Leininger, who was filling in for Mark Wynn, Armand's main defense attorney, said the indictment stems from an inspection of a barn where a residence was being constructed. Armand and Michael New, chief environmental specialist with the health department, were inspecting the building when police were called, Leininger said. Leininger said there were no trespassing charges filed against Armand because he had legal authority to inspect the premises. The controversy, Leininger said, is what Armand said in his interview with the Indiana State Police. I've known Ralph Armand for over 35 years," Leininger said. "I've always known him to be an honorable man, and I really believe he'll be exonerated. Armand declined to comment on the case in detail but said he'd been in law enforcement for 24 years and an administrator with the health department for 25 years and had never seen anything like this before. I have not committed a crime of any kind," he said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. "It's a difference of opinion on a situation that took place where one person had one opinion, and I had a different opinion. County Board of Commissioners President Tom Pietrykowski declined comment, saying he did not want to hurt Armand's case. We did discuss it in executive session, but I really can't say anything, he said. Pietrykowski said he was not aware of any changes at the health department in regard to Armand's position. Armand has a long history of serving Jefferson County. He was employed at the Madison Police Department for 20 years, serving eight years as chief. Armand then served as sheriff for four years. He ran again in 2002 but was defeated in the…

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Frivolous

The Jefferson County Plan Commission filed this "frivolous complaint" against Sherry J Chapo and Jessie A Chapo on 6/14/2007. At issue is the personal home they legally built in 2003-2004 without a building permit. A private home built by and with their own hands almost 4 years prior and according to Indiana Code 36-7-8-3d (commonly referred as the “Log Cabin Rule“), a home that is exempt from local building ordinances and permit requirements. The Plan Commission failed to prosecute this case in any manner for 2-more years. In the end, the merits of this case were never heard. Finally, in 2009 on the Chapo’s motion the trial court dismissed this case with prejudice. But then in typical Jefferson County fashion, Judge Ted Todd denied their motion for costs and fees. The Appellate Court ruled on this case frivolous in a landmark ruling on 5-5-2010 and remanded it back to the trial court to ascertain the Chapo’s legal costs. An agreed judgment was executed on 9-28-2010 in the amount of $4,680 and finally paid more than 3 months later on 1/19/2011 through the trust account of the county attorney, Will Goering. What a great investment of our tax dollars!

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Cause Dismissed

Plain and simple; the Jefferson County Plan Commission filed this cause in bad faith. For almost 18 months, the County failed to move forward one iota in prosecuting their case; absolutely no discovery, no depositions and no communication other than to answer the Chapos request for production of documents. In answering this request, the County attempted to extort several hundred dollars in unwarranted copying fees, facilitating the Chapos to file a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor on 12-10-2007. In an informal ruling 1-24-2008, the Counselor determined that the Plan Commission violated the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) by charging an excessive fee for copies of the zoning ordinances. Furthermore, the County failed to correct the complaint which named the incorrect parcel, effectively encumbering the property rights of an uninterested third party. The County’s attorney, Kristin Vandewater was promptly notified and confirmed this fatal error in a fax dated 9-9-2007, but then failed to ever take any corrective action. The Chapos filed a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to Prosecute on 12-5-2008. https://indianahomestead.com/wp-content/gallery/090504-CT-Order41E.pdf The "yada-yada-yada" hearing was finally held on 4-9-2009 and ruled on 5-4-2009. The County’s attorney insisted on arguing the Public Access complaint and not the merits of their original action, the only basis for the hearing. To the total dismay of the County's legal team, the cause was dismissed with prejudice, leaving no recourse for the County to retry this action. But that doesn’t stop the County from trying non-the-less. The saga continues …

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Public Records

In response the the Chapo’s request for production of documents, the County attempted to extort several hundred dollars in unwarranted copying fees. As a result, the Chapo’s filed a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor on 12-10-2007 In an informal ruling 1-24-2008, the Counselor determined that the Plan Commission violated the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) by charging an excessive fee for copies of zoning ordinances. But that's ok, if the County uses these "unreasonable copying fees" to help settle thier long past due Court ordered settlement to the Chapo family already. [ssg-superb-slideshow=records=250=400=4000=600=0=YES]

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Log Cabin Rule

Here, we visit the elusive “Log Cabin Rule” which applies without limitation to all private homes – not just log cabins, and how it relates to local building/zoning ordinances. In 2003 our family legally built our personal home with our own hands without ever obtaining the alleged prerequisite building permit. Although our home site conformed to all septic system standards, zoning use, and minimum setback requirements at the time, our local health dept., building enforcement, and plan commission begged to differ. So in 2004, we shared our newly acquired knowledge by serving a timely Cease & Desist Notice, which fluently describes the “Log Cabin Rule to our well meaning but misinformed County officials. Dissemination of this particular Indiana Code to our Amish friends and other county citizens upset our questionable County Health Administrator, Mr. Ralph Armand so greatly that he pressured the county into filing a frivolous and unwarranted civil lawsuit against our family. This case was subsequently dismissed with prejudice and ruled frivolous by the Indiana Court of Appeals. Indiana Code Chapter 8, referred to as, IC 36-7-8 Titled “County Building Department and Building Standards” states in IC 36-7-8-1 “This chapter applies to all counties.” Indiana Code IC 36-7-8-3(d) states “An ordinance adopted under this section does not apply to private homes that are built by individuals and used for their own occupancy” (emphasis added.) The Indiana Court of Appeals addressed this issue twice, once in Robinson v. Monroe County, 658 N.E.2d 647, 652 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995) and again in Robinson v. Monroe, 60A04-9506-CV-225 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996). The Indiana Appeals Court (Majority Opinion) denied both, Monroe County and Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission (Amicus Curiae)... “... In its early stages, this country’s frontier was moved westward by pioneers who moved onto land and built houses made from the materials at hand. Since then, home owning has become an essential facet of the “American dream”. It may be argued that ordinances such as those contemplated by Indiana Code IC 36-7-8-3, which establishes construction specifications and require permits and inspections for residential construction projects, interfere with the ability of some individuals to build their own home and thus to pursue the American dream. Building codes and ordinances may conceivably discourage or impede such individuals from building their own houses. A private individual building his own house may not possess the skills necessary to construct a building which complies with the technical specifications set out in the ordinances. In addition, an individual may not be able to afford to hire professionals or others to build a house. Therefore, exempting a person who wishes to build his own house from the requirements imposed pursuant to IC 36-7-8-3 of complying with construction specifications and obtaining permits allows that person to build a house even though he may not possess the skills or equipment to comply with technical specifications, and allows him to do so even if he…

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