Delaware County commissioners criticize Marion County prosecutor

MUNCIE, IN — The Delaware County commissioners on Monday, July 6, approved a measure expressing a lack of confidence in Marion County’s prosecutor, Ryan Mears.

The resolution, read aloud at Monday’s meeting by commissioner Stephen Brand, also had the approval of Delaware County’s prosecutor and sheriff, Eric Hoffman and Tony Skinner, respectively.

The measure noted statistics reflecting “multiple years of elevated violent crime” in Marion County and Indianapolis, creating concerns for officials and citizens statewide about the “policies and practices” of Mears, a Democrat who has been been Marion County prosecutor since 2019.

It also said authorities in Hoosier counties near Marion County have “documented increasing criminal activity involving individuals traveling from Marion County into neighboring jurisdictions, creating significant public safety challenges and financial burdens for local taxpayers.”

Brand said Delaware County has experienced “firsthand the consequences of these policies, including major violent felony prosecutions involving multiple defendants who traveled from Marion County to commit serious crimes within Delaware County.”

Five Indianapolis residents face charges stemming from the December slaying of 48-year-old Michael D. Greer of Shelbyville.

Greer’s body was found in a burning car along Delaware County Road 500 South west of Indiana 3.

Brand said the cases “require substantial expenditures of local taxpayer dollars for law enforcement investigations, incarceration costs, court operations, public defense services, jury trials, victim services and prosecution resources.”

“Delaware County taxpayers should not be forced to bear increasing financial burdens associated with a criminal justice system in another jurisdiction that fails to adequately deter, prosecute and incapacitate repeat violent offenders,” the county commissioner said.

In reading the measure, Brand said citizens of Delaware County “expect prosecutors throughout the state to uphold the rule of law, protect public safety and seek justice on behalf of crime victims.”

The measure said the Delaware County commissioners, Hoffman and Skinner believe the “policies and practices of Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears have contributed to circumstances that negatively impact public safety and pose unnecessary costs on Delaware County taxpayers.”

The resolution won the approval of all three commissioners, Brand, Shannon Henry and Sherrry Riggin. Henry said he decided to support the measure because it had the support of Hoffman and Skinner.

The no-confidence resolution will be sent to Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, the Indiana General Assembly, the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and Hoosier congressional representatives.

Democrat Mears is campaigning for re-election in the Nov. 3 election. His local critics — the commissioners, Hoffman and Skinner — are Republicans.

In early June, U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, criticized Mears on the floor of the U.S. Senate, calling him soft on crime.

The Indiana Fraternal Order of Police also issued a vote of no cofidence against Mears at its annual convention in June.

Efforts to contact Mears for comment on Monday were unsuccessful. Calls to his office were sent to a voice mailbox that was already full.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.