INDIANAPOLIS -- A Hamilton County Council member admitted in Marion County court Wednesday that he stole a fellow Republican's campaign signs last April.
Jeff Hern accepted a plea agreement that will have him pay back nearly $900 to fellow Hamilton County Council member Rick McKinney for the cost of signs Hern stole prior to the 2016 primaries.
McKinney told police he'd discovered three of his signs had gone missing. In all three cases, McKinney said he found remnants of rope left in the grass. He also found a cell phone where one of the stolen signs had been.
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That cell phone was eventually determined to belong to Hern.
At the time, Hern and McKinney – both Republicans – were running for at-large seats on the council.
Both were eventually elected to the council – although McKinney has called on Hern to resign.
As part of the plea agreement, the charges against Hern will be dismissed if he completes the terms of a one-year diversion program.
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