A former Wabash County Sheriff’s Deputy faces eight criminal charges including five Class 3 felonies. 29-year-old Chase Cheadle was the sheriff’s department’s K-9 officer and the charges filed by special prosecutor Brian Towne are related to Canine Kiki this summer.
Sheriff Derek Morgan said that on July 14th Cheadle found Kiki unresponsive. According to Morgan, Deputy Kiki had served with the sheriff’s department since September of 2022 and was an invaluable asset and partner to Wabash County. He said her death was a significant loss to the sheriff’s office.
Cheadle faces four charges of official misconduct in that he allegedly placed Kiki in a life-threatening situation for a prolonged period of time in extreme heat that resulted in her death. It’s also alleged that Cheadle did not provide Kiki with adequate shelter and protection from the weather and failed to provide humane care and treatment. The fourth misconduct charge alleges Cheadle that he committed theft in excess of $500 by deceptively obtaining control of comp time compensation from Wabash County. The felony theft charge is in connection to submitted payroll amounts for dates he represented he earned comp time for care and maintenance, including the keeping of records, for Kiki, when he did not complete the records nor care for and maintain Kiki.
Other charges against Cheadle include misdemeanor counts of cruel treatment and two counts of owner’s duties for allegedly placing Kiki in a life-threatening situation for a prolonged period of time in extreme heat that resulted in her death. The owner’s duties charges are also related to not providing Kiki adequate shelter and protection from the weather and failing to provide humane care and treatment.
In a joint statement, Morgan and Wabash County State’s Attorney Kelli Storckman said Cheadle resigned from the sheriff’s department on August 8th during the investigation.
Cheadle made his first appearance Thursday morning in Wabash County Circuit Court and waived first advisement. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for November 14th. A Class 3 felony in Illinois carries a possible 2 to 5 years in prison and fines up to $25,000. Probation is also possible. The investigation was conducted by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office and was presented to the Wabash County Sheriff and the Wabash County State’s Attorney.
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