Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman Teams Up With Convicted Felon Kristopher Bilbrey to Attack Hoosier Enquirer After Declining Thorough Probe of Muncie Officer Who Shot Family Dog Five Times

Delaware County Prosecutor teams up with Convicted Felon Kristopher Bilbrey

10/25/2026 MUNCIE — Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman spent part of his Saturday attacking Hoosier Enquirer after the outlet detailed what it described as his office’s failure to properly investigate a Muncie police officer who shut off his body camera before shooting a one-year-old family dog five times.

According to people familiar with the matter, Hoffman called for a Hoosier Enquirer reporter to be arrested the day after the outlet published further reporting on the October 16 incident involving Officer Michael E. Skinner (Badge #2101). In that case, officers were serving a non-criminal child-support warrant at a home on East Wysor Street when Skinner deactivated his body-worn camera, later reactivated it, and reported firing rounds after claiming he was attacked by the dog. The dog, named Memphis, survived with gunshot wounds to both rear legs; one required amputation. The incident was logged as a routine “Animal Incident” and explicitly marked “Not a use-of-force. Not an officer-involved shooting.”

Hoosier Enquirer had formally requested that Hoffman open a criminal investigation into potential violations of Indiana law involving the camera deactivation and the reporting of the event. Hoffman acknowledged receiving the request and the Muncie Police Department case file and said he was reviewing it. Local reporting indicated he later determined the officer’s actions were justified. The same corrupt Government investigated themselves and found no wrongdoing.

The same weekend, convicted felon Kristopher H. Bilbrey — host of the local show The Political Spotlight — reached out to Hoosier Enquirer CEO Donna Kavanagh on Thursday and has continued contacting her, according to Kavanagh. Bilbrey pleaded guilty in 2013 to felony theft while working loss prevention at a Muncie Walmart; court records show he was stealing merchandise from the store that employed him to prevent theft. He received a one-year suspended sentence. Democrats and Republicans in Delaware County have long described him as a disruptive figure more focused on personal disputes than substantive oversight.

A Republican insider with the Delaware County GOP confirmed that Hoffman personally dislikes Bilbrey but nonetheless spent part of his Saturday coordinating with him to target Hoosier Enquirer, which is run by CEO Donna Kavanagh. The insider described the pairing as noteworthy given Hoffman’s known views of Bilbrey.

At a board meeting yesterday, Kavanagh said the organization intends to hold Muncie officials accountable for what she called reckless conduct. She specifically called for justice in the hot-car death of a child involving a local law enforcement officer and for accountability in the dog-shooting case. She also said Hoffman must be held responsible for what she described as reckless actions in the Prosecutor’s Office.

The hot-car case involved a Delaware County sheriff’s deputy whose 10-year-old daughter with special needs died of hyperthermia after being left in a truck on an 85-degree day in August 2025. Hoffman recused himself; out-of-county special prosecutors declined to file charges, finding insufficient evidence that the deputy acted intentionally. The deputy has since returned to work.

Hoffman, a Republican first elected in 2018, is seeking re-election in 2026. He has previously faced public scrutiny over other matters, including a 2025 incident in which text messages attributed to him were described by a parent as an attempt to intimidate a child during a dispute involving their children.

Hoosier Enquirer has continued to press for independent review of the body-camera deactivation and the shooting of Memphis, arguing that rear-leg wounds on a dog supposedly charging the officer do not align with the official account and that the camera was deliberately turned off during the critical moments.

Hoosier Enquirer will continue to track developments in both the dog-shooting case and any further actions involving the Prosecutor’s Office.