Atlanta residents divided on handling of town official implicated in 1992 murder

ATLANTA, Ind. - There was disagreement and a hint of uncertainty at the Atlanta Town Council meeting Tuesday night as the debate continued about what town officials should do about Andy Emmert.




"We've seen the news as I'm sure you all have too," Council President Murry Dixon said.




Last week, the Hamilton County Prosecutor's office filed murder charges against Thomas Anderson for the 1992 killing of Tony Bledsoe north of Noblesville. Anderson told investigators that he, along with Emmert, murdered Bledsoe, cut up his body and then dumped it in Putnam County.




Prosecutors said they only have enough evidence to charge Anderson at this time. Emmert has not been arrested or charged for Bledsoe's murder.




"We intended to be in a position to have some more information or direction by tonight," Dixon said when the council reached the empty "New Business" section of the agenda.




The council had been preparing to address the claims but they failed to properly advertise their executive session in time to comply with Indiana's Open Door Law.




"The notice was sent to the paper in time but for reasons beyond the Town's control the notice was not published till Saturday and that time frame was outside of the rules laid out in the Open Door Law, which state 48 hours notice, excluding Sat, Sun, holidays," Council Member Pam Van Hook said in an email to FOX59/CBS4.




The council did move forward with their regularly scheduled meeting, which included reports from the various department officials. Emmert was on the agenda to provide a report from the utility, street and building departments that he oversees. However, he was noticeably absent.




When the council reached the public comment portion of the meeting, all anyone wanted to talk about was the situation with Emmert.




"You need to fire the man," Nick Lynch said from the audience. "Get it over with. You can fire him. Don't be afraid of him suing you."




Lynch expressed concern that Emmert continuing as a city official is giving the town a bad reputation.




"There have been a lot of people fired from jobs for a hell of a lot less than this accusation," Lynch said. "It's time to send the man down the road. This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous. The isn't Indianapolis."




Others told the council that, despite the fact that Emmert has not been arrested or charged, they're fearful.




"This has been going on since October when his house was raided and just all the accusations," Angie Van Hook said. "I worry about the safety of our water. I worry about the safety of my kids."




However, there were some who disagreed.




"I'm sad that part of the town has already convicted him," Neila Teal said. "He has not been arrested. Let's give him a fair chance. He's a good worker. He's been a good worker for years. So, you know, until he convicted or arrested, let's cool it for a while."




This isn't the first time the council has faced a decision on Emmert. Last October, when investigators raided his home as part of the murder investigation, the council put him on paid leave.




However, he was brought back to work a month later to deal with issues involving the town's utilities.




Council President Murry Dixon was asked why the council couldn't act on Emmert without the executive session.




"I suppose we potentially could," Dixon said in an interview after the meeting. "We have not made the decision to do so. Nobody felt prepared to do anything absent a discussion with our attorney."




The council has now posted a notice of the executive session and special meeting. Executive sessions are closed to the public.




The council's executive session is scheduled for Saturday, May 31 at 9 a.m. with the public, special meeting to follow right after.





via: https://fox59.com/news/atlanta-residents-divided-on-handling-of-town-official-implicated-in-1992-murder/