CLAY COUNTY, Ind. – A former Carmel police officer could avoid charges after creating a fake Facebook profile to criticize local officials.
The investigation into Andrew Longyear started in February 2022, when a Georgia man contacted Indiana State Police because someone was using his identity on social media.
That individual, investigators said, was Longyear, a former Clay County sheriff’s deputy who joined the Carmel Police Department in 2021. He has since resigned from the department.
ISP said Longyear posted under a fake name on the “Brazil Indiana Chatter” social media page to make derogatory remarks about a candidate for Clay County sheriff and a prosecutor.
He was charged with identity deception and harassment. Due to the nature of the charges against Longyear, a special prosecutor from another county filed the case in Clay County.
Under a pretrial diversion agreement filed this week, the charges against Longyear will be dismissed if he follows through on the terms for six months. If he fails to meet the requirements, efforts to prosecute the case will resume.
Under the terms, Longyear must delete any fake Facebook profiles he maintains, including one associated with the Georgia man whose identity he used and two separate profiles under assumed names.
He must avoid breaking any local, state or federal laws and notify the prosecutor’s office of any change of address. He currently lives in Fishers.
Longyear is also prohibited from “harassing, intimidating, threatening or having any direct or indirect contact” with the man whose profile he stole or the two Clay County officials he targeted with his remarks: sheriff candidate Josh Clarke and his wife, Emily, the Clay County prosecutor.
The Clarkes consented to the pretrial diversion agreement, as did the man who originally contacted Indiana State Police about possible identity deception.
