Publisher’s Perspective
A dirty magistrate, a Carmel attorney, an out-of-town prosecutor and judge walk into a courtroom – sound like the opening line for a good joke? It happened this week in our county, and the result wasn’t what was expected.
Former Hamilton County magistrate Will Greenaway – previously charged with three felonies – walked out of the Hamilton County Judicial Center on Wednesday with a slap on the wrist.
In 2018, Greenaway was the focus of a multi-agency investigation that included narcotics officers and investigators with the Noblesville Police Department and the Indiana State Police.
The investigation alleges the former magistrate used a code word, “coffee,” when discussing methamphetamine with police informants. Investigators stated the former magistrate was seen multiple times using meth. He was arrested in a public parking lot during an arranged drug deal while in possession of methamphetamine, swallowed the bag of drugs when approached by police, and then, according to police reports, bit a police officer.
Let’s not forget, when searched by police, he was in possession court documents that pertained to the arrest of another individual that reportedly was a previous source of meth.
As you can see, this wasn’t your run of the mill possession arrest where “Johnny” gets stopped for speeding and the police find a bag of dope.
It was a magistrate. Like it or not, a person who should be held to a higher standard. It was an investigation that cost the city of Noblesville and the State of Indiana time and money. An investigation that injured a police officer.
It was an investigation resulting in felony charges filed against a court official. An investigation that culminated in a misdemeanor plea bargain approved by an out-of-town judge and an out-of-town prosecutor.
If Greenaway completes the terms of his probation and pays a few hundred dollars in fines and court costs, the only time he will have seen in jail was the few hours it took him to initially bond out.
Unfortunately, I see no opportunity for accountability in this case. The prosecutor was from Howard County. The judge was from Tipton County. Maybe things are handled a little differently where they come from, but I would think the overall conservative and law-abiding people of Hamilton County would have expected a different outcome.