Police: North Vernon woman linked to evidence room thefts

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A former North Vernon police officer linked to thefts from the department’s property room was arrested Monday afternoon on a Jennings Circuit Court warrant for official misconduct and forgery, police said.

Brandy Blevins, 43, of North Vernon faces those Level 6 felony charges along with a Class A misdemeanor count of theft.

According to a news release from the Indiana State Police, the investigation began in February at the request of the North Vernon Police Department after a routine audit uncovered the thefts.

The audit also showed that someone had tampered with other items in the property room, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, public information officer for the Indiana State Police Versailles Post.

During the investigation, detectives determined Blevins, while working as a detective for the North Vernon Police Department, stole numerous items of evidence from the department’s evidence room, Wheeles said. That led to the theft charge.

As part of the investigation, police also discovered Blevins had altered medical records from Schneck Medical Center in Seymour and submitted those to the North Vernon Police Department, Wheeles said. That led to the forgery charge.

North Vernon Police Chief James D. Webster said in a prepared statement that a problem with storage of records was discovered during a standard audit of the property room.

He said it appeared that someone had tampered with some items. At that point, the property room was sealed, and the state police was contacted, Webster said.

A team of state police investigators arrived Feb. 22 to begin an investigation, he said.

Webster said Blevins, who resigned Feb. 25, was a detective from June 2013 to December 2015, and that gave her access to the property room.

He said no other detectives, past or present, were implicated during the investigation, and the property room has been unsealed.

Blevins was arrested and booked into the Jennings County Jail at 2:26 p.m. Monday.

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