Cassius Aaron Rovenstine

WARSAW — New documents were made public this morning, Thursday, March 10, in the indictment against Kosciusko County Sheriff C. Aaron Rovenstine. That document, filed by Neil E. Hodges, Indiana State Police, concludes “There exists evidence of official misconduct, intimidation and/or obstruction of justice hidden within the hard drives of two BIS Digital, digital video recording systems at the sheriff’s department.”

Among the documents is a search warrant issued at 10:02 a.m. Tuesday, March 8, for two BIS Digital brand, PC-based, digital audio/video recording systems that monitor interview rooms within the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and jail. One system monitors interview rooms known as the “large room” and “small room.” The second system monitors the “jail interview room” and the “breath test room.”

The warrant was for the hard drives and any and all digital storage media that contains audio and/or video content on those devices from and after March 30, 2015. The warrant also notes the hard drives may be copied but only examined for data created on or after March 20, 2015.

An affidavit for the search warrant, filed by Hodges notes in the early months of 2015, Warsaw Police Department began an investigation into Kevin Bronson and Mark Soto. Bronson was incarcerated within the Kosciusko County Jail. The initial investigation focused on Bronson’s and Soto’s conducted relating to corrupt business influence and intimidation. It was through this investigation Warsaw Police discovered a familiar and/or inappropriate relationship between the two men and Rovenstine, other jail personnel and other elected officials.

The following are details included in the affidavit filed by Hodges. He additionally notes in the affidavit this information was presented to the grand jury, which resulted in the 10-count indictment against Rovenstine.

During Bronson’s incarceration, Rovenstine would frequently allow unmonitored and unrecorded visits between Bronson and Soto. Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker and Det. Sgt. Paul Heaton made official requests to Rovenstine to stop the unrecorded contact. Both explained to Rovenstine that Soto was under investigation for his criminal conduct with Bronson. Rovenstine indicated he understood and he would no longer allow the unrecorded contact. Two requests to stop the unrecorded contact occurred March 20, 2015, and July 2, 2015. The conversations with Rovenstine were digitally recorded by Warsaw Police.

The July 2 request took place during an in-person meeting at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department. Toward the end of the meeting and after Whitaker had left, Rovenstine said to Heaton: “It almost sounded to me like Scott (Whitaker) was almost inferring I’m dirty. Well … you know … I could go into ‘your’re a drug investigator’ … you do things with informants that are convicted felons. I mean, I could paint a story like you’re some crook because you’re dealing with these informants that are … you know … and they accused you of doing ‘this.’ ”

The unrecorded contact between Soto and Bronson continued at the jail. On Aug. 4, 2015, Whitaker entered the jail and took a photograph of Bronson and Soto during an unrecorded meeting. After Aug. 4, 2015, Heaton was denied entry into the county jail.

On Aug. 14, 2015, Heaton contacted Rovenstine to confront him about being denied entry into the jail. Heaton digitally recorded the conversation. During that conversation Rovenstine eventually said “Paul, listen I don’t wanna start World War III because everybody’s gonna lose. I guarantee ya, you think you hold everything, you don’t. This will be ugly. It’ll be real ugly so I wanna cooperate, I don’t want any trouble, I really don’t.” The document notes Heaton said “What would be ugly?” with Rovenstine continuing, “Let me assure you we invest … we can investigate things. I am a police officer. I am the sheriff. I have investigators too.” Rovenstine again said he didn’t “want a war started.” Heaton asked Rovenstine what he was insinuating and Rovenstine stated “I’m not insinuating anything. I’m stating a fact.”

Investigation Initiated

By the middle of September 2015, ISP learned KCSD had initiated an investigation into Heaton. The investigation centered on allegations Heaton had sexual relations with confidential informants, Chelsea Robison-Burkholder and Kim Richardson Sivits. KCSD detectives focused their investigation on interviews with Burkholder, Sivits and known associates.

ISP Detective Chad Sherwood spoke to Phil Heinzman by phone Oct. 1, 2015. Heinzeman said KCSD Detective Mike Speigle and Matt Rapp came to his home within the few weeks prior to Oct. 1. He stated he assumed they were there to discuss his son, Darren, (who was incarcerated at the county jail) but they started asking him questions about Heaton and his son’s girlfriend, Robison-Burkholder. Heinzmen asked the two detectives what was going on and why they were asking about Heaton and Robison-Burkholder. He told Sherwood the two thought something inappropriate was going on. Heinzman stated at one point during the conversation he asked Speigle why he was doing this. Speigle stated, “I’m just doing what I was told to do.”

Heinzman told Sherwood he had the sense Speigle was very uncomfortable with what he was doing. Heinzman said he finally reached the point where he told the detectives: “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between the sheriff’s department and the city police but I’m ready to call one of the judges, have all of you put in one big room, have all of you drop your pants, see whose got the biggest … and get this thing over with.” Heinzman related Speigle about “tore his pants off” getting his phone out of his pocket so he could “get that off of his recorder.”

Sherwood spoke with Speigle on Oct. 14, who listed several interviews that he digitally recorded, but did not know why he failed to record the interview with Heinzman. He also stated Heinzman thought Speigle was recording the conversation because he had pulled his phone out to look at the time. He also spoke with KCSD Detective Chris Rager the same day.

Rager was asked if he had been ordered, or asked, by anyone to investigate Heaton or anything concerning Heaton. Rager stated, “no one has asked me or ordered me do that.” He then told ISP they should be looking into someone (Paul Heaton) like that. Rager further stated, “I’m not gonna that say he’s done anything criminal, but for me, he doesn’t live up to my standards of a man, or what a man should (be or do).” It is noted Sherwood told Rager that ISP does criminal investigations with Rager stating the reason his department is “even in this situation is because of Paul Heaton and the city. They brought us into this by coming into my, to this office and basically investigating my boss” (Aaron Rovenstine). Rager also stated, “You come in here and treat my boss like shit I’m gonna get pissed, you know, he’s my friend.” He said when “they come in and do that, and secretly record conversations that are held between officers” it “pisses me off and it should.”

Through additional investigations, ISP discovered that KCSD detectives had taken Sivits for two separate polygraph tests in Elkhart County. The first test was inconclusive and Sivits failed the second (which indicated she was not truthful in alleging a sexual relationship with Heaton). ISP obtained both polygraph interviews through subpoenas. During both polygraph interviews, Sivits indicated she was told by KCSD investigators she made a recorded comment in a Silver Lake police car about having had sex with Heaton. She also indicated in one or both polygraph interviews she did not remember making the comment. She also stated in one or both polygraph interviews she came to KCSD with complaints regarding Heaton and her drug charges and they “came at me with the sexual stuff” and “still I denied it.” Sivits further indicated she did not tell KCSD she had sex with Heaton until she was brought, by the county’s drug task force, to the sheriff’s department and interviewed by Detective JD Ayres Nov. 12, 2015.

Subpoenas were requested for KCSD’s entire case file and investigation information gathered as they investigated Heaton. The information contained several digitally recorded interviews. Those interviews were on the digital video recorders in the large, small and jail interview rooms. The case file and information did not contain the video of the second polygraph Sivits failed. Ayres told Sherwood KCSD never obtained the second video.

Gaps In Recorded Interview

The case file received contained a recorded interview of Sivits on Nov. 12, 2015, recorded on the DVR that monitors the two interview rooms. A 2.5 minute gap is found in one of the recordings. The video is a split screen with two views of the room. The beginning date/time on both screen camera clocks are noted, showing an approximately 4 second difference between the two clocks. During the first 12 minutes she talked about circumstances that led to her allegations. She told Ayres she didn’t remember what happened in Silver Lake and she was told it was recorded. She stated she was told she was talking to somebody about sleeping with him or whatever, she didn’t know. Hodges states for the next 20 minutes she complained, primarily about her drug charges and only stopped when Ayres asked if she could identify Heaton’s physical characteristics.

Sivits stated “not really” and Ayres said “when you had sex with Paul Heaton, you knew you were having sex to get rid of a lab charge,” and she agreed with him. She continued complaining about her drug charges until Ayres told her to sit tight and he left the room. The time difference between the two screens are noted 11:26:53 and 11:26:57. Sivits was alone for approximately 1 minute, 9 seconds with her phone beside her. At 11:30:30 on one screen camera clock and 11:30:34 on the other, Ayres reappears in the video sitting on the couch holding Sivits cell phone. It is stated at no time can Ayres be seen opening the door or walking into the room to sit on the couch. This indicates the recording stopped on its own or was stopped by someone; there was approximate 2 minutes and 20-29 second time period which was not recorded.

Robison-Burkholder was incarcerated at the jail Sept. 17 to Sept. 28, 2015 on unrelated conversion charge. The subpoenaed case file contained one interview with her during the time she was incarcerated. This interview was conducted by KCSD Det. Josh Spangle on Sept. 17, 2015. Spangle did not ask her any questions about sex with Heaton in that interview. In an Interview conducted by Sherwood, she stated she was asked about sex with Heaton every day during her incarceration.

The information received from KCSD contained an audio interview with Michael Walls by Ayres and Rapp on Oct. 5, 2015. During the interview Walls told how Robison-Burkholder told him she was questioned by police during her latest incarceration. He said the police “tried to break her hard.” He also stated Robinson-Burkholder said she was separated in jail for 10 days and interviewed or “drilled” almost every day regarding Heaton. Ayres stated he “listened to those interviews … and they didn’t grill her … if she thinks that’s a grillin’, she ain’t been grilled yet.” The file received from KCSD contained only one interview with Robison-Burkholder between Sept. 17, 2015, to Sept. 28, 2015.

Hodges spoke with Kosciusko County Systems Administrator Bob Momeyer March 1, 2016. Momeyer stated the digital file or files of the Sivits interview containing the gap had been deleted from the BIS Digital brand digital record which monitors those interview rooms. He stated not only was that file deleted but the digital recorder did not contain any interviews from Oct. 8, 2015 to Dec. 8, 2015. Momeyer told Hodges he believed there to be a good chance of recovering the deleted data due to the relatively low amount of data on the 500 GB hard drive within that recorder. He also stated he believed the recording system could be paused during an active recording resulting in a gap. Momeyer also explained the systems and functions.

Hodges believes “the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s department has shown a pattern to delete or not include information that is inconsistent with the narrative they are trying to prove. This belief is based on the deleted block of data from the digital video recorder, the recorded interview with a 2.5 minute unrecorded or deleted gap, Heinzman’s statement believing Speigle shut off a recorder and the lack of obtaining a polygraph video which an individual failed to pass.

Hodges additionally states he believes the BIS System does contain additional interview of Robison-Burkholder based on Ayres statement of listening to “those” interviews.