Misty Noel set for early release after nearly 10 months served on 18-month Indiana sentence

Early release follows guilty plea in theft and tax evasion case tied to New Chapel EMS finances

Misty Noel, the estranged wife of former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, is scheduled for early release after serving nearly 10 months of an 18-month sentence imposed in 2025. The case stems from a broader Southern Indiana public corruption investigation centered on the finances of the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association, also known as New Chapel EMS and later New Chapel Fire & EMS.

Noel pleaded guilty on July 3, 2025, to 10 felony counts: five counts of Level 5 felony theft and five counts of Level 6 felony tax evasion. The court accepted the plea agreement and ordered an 18-month prison term. Under the terms addressed at sentencing, she was also ordered to pay restitution of $660,807 to the New Chapel Fire Department and $29,547 to the Indiana Department of Revenue.

The sentencing hearing included testimony from Washington County’s chief probation officer, who described Noel’s statements during a pre-sentence interview as focused on preparing her children during her incarceration. In court, Noel apologized and spoke about the personal impact of the case on her family.

The case against Misty Noel was part of a multi-defendant investigation that began in 2023 and produced a series of guilty pleas involving public officials and members of the Noel family.

How the sentence was structured and why early release was possible

While Noel’s prison term was set at 18 months, the overall sentence structure described in court coverage indicated a longer total sentence with a portion ordered served in custody and the remainder handled through probation. In Indiana, the time actually served can be reduced through statutory credit time and other corrections policies, meaning many defendants do not serve the full length of the executed term.

The early release schedule comes after the court, in August 2025, declined to undo Noel’s guilty plea following litigation tied to statements she made to media around the time of sentencing. The judge ultimately upheld the plea and sentence and canceled a contempt hearing that had been under consideration.

Connections to the larger Noel investigation

Misty Noel’s conviction followed earlier guilty pleas connected to the same investigation. Jamey Noel, a former sheriff, received a prison sentence after admitting to multiple felony offenses, including theft and related financial crimes. Their daughter, Kasey Noel, also pleaded guilty in a separate case involving use of a New Chapel-associated credit card and served a jail sentence.

• Misty Noel: convicted July 3, 2025; ordered to pay restitution to New Chapel and the state revenue department.

• Jamey Noel: serving a prison sentence connected to the wider corruption investigation.

• Other defendants: additional cases have included guilty pleas and at least one pending appeal.

Noel’s scheduled early release closes one of the final incarceration chapters linked to the Noel family’s prosecutions, while remaining cases tied to the broader investigation continue to move through Indiana courts.