Pruitt
By Noah Crenshaw
Franklin Daily Journal
For The Republic
JOHNSON COUNTY — Five Johnson County deputy coroners have resigned as the elected coroner returns to work amid a criminal investigation into his actions. As that investigation continues, Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner on Wednesday filed to seek a special prosecutor.
Chief Deputy Coroner Derek Wilson and deputy coroners Jasmine Copeman, Rebecca Cornejo, Derrick Hartman and Lydia Griffiths all resigned effective Wednesday. These five staffers represent a third of the office’s 15-member staff, including elected coroner Mike Pruitt.
Copies of the resignation letters from Copeman, Cornejo, Hartman and Griffiths obtained by the Daily Journal all indicate it was a result of recent allegations made public against Pruitt. While Wilson’s emailed communication did not expressly say the reason for his resignation, he told the Daily Journal it was also a result of the allegations.
Pruitt, the county’s elected coroner since 2021, is accused of buying alcohol for a 17-year-old girl and offering her cannabis gummies, which is under investigation by the Indiana State Police, as there is a conflict of interest with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. The situation was revealed following the filing of a protective order against him by the mother of the teen, who accuses Pruitt of having “inappropriate” contact with her and of harassment, court documents show.
The protective order details 30 incidents of contact between Pruitt, the girl and her mother over the last year or so. The incidents include in-person contact, text messages, emails and phone calls; the messages cover a range of topics and many do not involve providing substances.
The protective order also includes comments that suggest Pruitt was having a mental health crisis, which likely contributed to this situation.
Special Judge David Riggins of Shelby County granted the protective order on Aug. 20, ordering Pruitt to have no contact with and stay away from the girl and her mother. The order is in effect for two years, until Aug. 20, 2027.
No criminal charges have been filed against Pruitt as of Wednesday. ISP does not confirm or identify the target of an investigation or a suspect of a crime until, or unless, charges are filed or an arrest is made.
In reference to the criminal investigation, Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner requested a special prosecutor be appointed to ultimately determine what, if any, charges are brought. Hamner requested the appointment as it is “necessary to avoid the appearance of bias or prejudice,” the filing shows.
Based on the nature of communications that have been provided to the Daily Journal, if a crime were charged, it would likely be a misdemeanor.
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Pruitt said it was disappointing to receive the five resignations, but he said “each individual must make the decision that is best for themselves.” The former employees served the county with dedication and Pruitt is grateful for their service, he said.
“Moving forward, the Johnson County Coroner’s Office remains fully committed to providing thorough and professional death investigations,” Pruitt said. “Our priority continues to be ensuring that families receive the answers they need during the most difficult of times. At this time, the office remains staffed with eight deputy coroners, one full-time administrative deputy coroner and myself.”
“As of today, we have already received several requests for applications from individuals interested in serving our community as deputy coroners, and we will be moving forward with the process of filling those vacancies in the near future,” he added.
The resignation letters submitted by Copeman, Cornejo, Hartman and Griffiths — all of whom are part-time deputy coroners — all use language involving ethics and values as part of the reasoning for their resignations.
Griffiths wrote she could not “ethically continue to support and work for the office” in light of the situation, while Copeman wrote she felt she was no longer able to “continue supporting the office at this time.” Hartman wrote he couldn’t in “good conscience continue [his] service under” Pruitt’s administration as “his actions are not aligned with [Hartman’s] personal and professional values.”
“My career and commitment has always been to the protection and well-being of the children and families in our community,” Hartman wrote. “It is my hope that in the future, under different leadership, I may have the opportunity to return to the coroner’s office in a capacity where integrity and accountability are upheld.”
Cornejo wrote she resigned after “careful reflection,” also saying that she couldn’t “continue to serve under leadership whose actions and conduct conflict with the principles of integrity and accountability that [she holds] as essential in public service.”
“Remaining in this role would risk sending the community a misleading message of support,” Cornejo wrote.
The four letters also emphasize that their time serving the families and loved ones of decedents was a privilege, and that they were grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this work.
Wilson, who’s worked under Pruitt at the coroner’s office since he was elected in 2020, described his decision to leave as a “difficult, yet, necessary decision” in a statement. In an interview with the Daily Journal, he said the allegations were unexpected and he only had about 22 hours to process them before they were first publicized around Sept. 12.
After initial news coverage of the protective order and allegations came out, Wilson says the four deputy coroners — Copeman, Cornejo, Hartman and Griffiths — immediately came to him with concerns about the situation and wanted to resign. He convinced them not to at the time, as he wanted them to stay until the situation was figured out, he said.
“I sent out a message to the entire agency [saying,] ‘Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen here, but you have my leadership, and you have my word that I’m not going anywhere right now, and that we’ll just make it through it together as a group. We’re pretty tight-knit,” Wilson said. “… They have their own various reasons on why they didn’t want to stay, but they agreed, when I asked them, that they would stay until we knew what was going to happen.”
Pruitt took a leave of absence from the coroner’s office for about 30 days, leaving Wilson in charge. When the Johnson County attorney reached out to Pruitt’s attorney to ask when he would be returning, Pruitt informed her and Wilson on Sept. 26 he planned to return Oct. 1. The resignations were subsequently sent in, with Hartman’s dated Sept. 26, Copeman’s dated Sept. 27, Wilson’s dated Sept. 28 and Griffiths’ dated Oct. 1. Wilson’s resignation also noted that Hartman, Copeman, Griffiths and Cornejo had all informed him they planned to resign, documents show.
Wilson says the deputy coroners at the coroner’s office do great work every day and that officials have “made strides” to make the office into one of the best in the state. But, ultimately, he had to look at the future and what image it would portray for him if he stayed. He plans to run for coroner, he said.
“It’s a difficult position to be in, and I didn’t make this decision quickly,” Wilson said. “It just, you got to have some reflection, and you got to talk to your closest friends and family members and other political folks that are in the county. … I’m going to ask people to vote for me, and in three years time, when he’s done, will people look at me differently because I stayed? Like, am I supporting those kind of allegations?”
Wilson says he doesn’t. Pruitt is innocent until proven guilty, and “everybody deserves a fair shake on that front,” he said. However, the allegations and the perception were enough for him to leave the office and come back in the future, he said.
The coroner’s office is going to go through a difficult transition period right now, but there are still good people there who are highly trained and experienced, Wilson said.
As for whether Pruitt should resign, which some have called for on social media since the allegations were made public, Wilson doesn’t have an answer. But Wilson does think Pruitt should think about what is best for himself, he said.
