Hancock deputy faces 441 charges after ISP says he turned Flock cameras into a private tracker

Hancock County Courthouse, Greenfield. Photo: Nyttend / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

GREENFIELD, Ind. — The badge was supposed to protect Hancock County. Instead, Indiana State Police say one of its own deputies turned a network of automatic license-plate readers into a private tracking tool — then sent texts that crossed into intimidation.

ISP detectives arrested James Heneghan, 33, a Hancock County Sheriff's deputy, on Thursday morning after serving a warrant. He was booked into the Hancock County Jail. His initial court hearing is set for Friday, according to reporting from WIBC and Fox 59.

What separates this case from a routine personnel flap is the charge sheet prosecutors are seeking: 220 counts of fraud, 220 counts of official misconduct, and one count of intimidation — 441 criminal counts in all. Those figures come from charging documents described by WIBC. The charges are allegations. Heneghan is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

How the probe started

According to an Indiana State Police account carried by WBIW and WISH-TV, the case did not begin with a camera audit. In April 2026, ISP received a request to investigate alleged intimidation — specifically, threatening text messages attributed to Heneghan. The Hancock County Sheriff had first referred the matter to the McCordsville Police Department, which forwarded it to state police. Heneghan was placed on leave when those allegations surfaced.

WISH-TV reported that a relative said texts from Heneghan warned that his children would suffer. ISP, working with the Hancock County Prosecutor's Office, later submitted probable cause for intimidation, official misconduct, and fraud.

Thousands of Flock searches — many off the clock

While digging into the texts, detectives found evidence of improper use of automatic license-plate reader (ALPR) cameras, ISP said. An extensive database audit, as described by WIBC citing charging documents, found nearly 6,200 Flock searches between December 2024 and March 2026. Roughly 65 percent of those searches were allegedly run while Heneghan was off duty.

The same documents say Heneghan searched his wife's vehicle and a man's plate more than 900 times each, listing the reason as "DUI traffic studies." Vehicles tied to a former girlfriend and her husband were searched more than 220 times. Investigators said they found no active cases involving those people.

WIBC further reported that the ex-girlfriend's daughter said Heneghan tailgated her during a January traffic stop after her vehicle had been searched on Flock nine times. Those are allegations drawn from charging documents and witness accounts reported by local news; they have not been proven in court.

Leave, jail, and a merit board

The Hancock County Sheriff's Office has placed Heneghan on unpaid administrative leave while the merit board considers termination, WIBC reported. ISP said detectives served the arrest warrant Thursday morning and booked him into the county jail.

For Central Indiana families who were told license-plate cameras were about catching killers and car thieves — not settling personal scores — the numbers demand answers. Who audited Flock access before April? How many off-duty queries slipped through without a supervisor flag? And how long does a deputy keep a badge after prosecutors stack hundreds of official-misconduct counts?

What the record shows — and does not

Indiana State Police and local outlets identify Heneghan by name as the deputy arrested and charged in connection with intimidation and license-plate reader misuse. No conviction has been reported. Under Indiana and U.S. law, an accused person is presumed innocent. The Hoosier Enquirer will update this story if formal charging documents, court rulings, or official statements from the sheriff or prosecutor change the public record.

Sources: WIBC/Fox 59; WISH-TV; WBIW / Indiana State Police release.

Written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers.