SIDNEY — No charges will be filed against two Shelby County residents following an investigation by Shelby County Prosecutor Tim Sell.

Jack Bastian, 58, a private investigator from Piqua, and former Shelby County Sheriff Dean A. Kimpel, 56, of Botkins had filed four complaints in January with the Sidney Police Department against Shelby County John Lenhart and Shelby County Board of Elections Chairman Christopher Gibbs. At the time the complaints were filed, neither Lenhart nor Gibbs’s names were released. With the review complete, names were available to the press.

The four offenses are election falsification; prohibited acts concerning declaration or petitions; theft in office of government property; and misconduct of members/employees of the Shelby County Board of Elections. The incidents allegedly occurred between Sept. 9, 2011, and Jan. 1, 2013.

“While the file did contain an overview and basic report prepared by you (Sidney Police Captain Jerry Tangeman), the lion’s share of the file consists of summaries, newspaper articles, copies of various statues and other information gathered and prepared by former Shelby County Sheriff Dean A. Kimpel and his private investigator, Jack Bastian,” Sell wrote in a memorandum to Tangeman.

Sell said after receiving the files, his office gathered additional records and information relevant to the allegations made by Kimpel and Bastian. They also researched various statues, case law and Ohio Secretary of State Directives relevant to the allegations.

“In short, I have concluded no criminal offense was committed,” wrote Sell. “Further, I have concluded that further investigation into these matters would be a waste of time, resources and taxpayer money.”

Sell reviewed each charge and his reasoning behind no charges being filed.

Theft in office. Bastian and Kimpel allege that in 2011 Lenhart, who was soon-to-be appointed county sheriff, and Gibbs, executive committee chairperson of the Shelby County Republican Party, were guilty of theft in office due to their use of the county’s property and electricity for a press conference announcing Lenhart’s candidacy for sheriff. Bastian and Kimpel allege that the commissioners who were in office at the time — Larry Kleinhans, Jack R. Toomey and Julie Ehemann — were guilty of theft in office by virtue of their complicity in the offense.

Sell outlined the facts as such: On Sept. 15, 2011, Lenhart, along with a group of Republican elected officials and business leaders, held a press conference on the sidewalk of the Shelby County Courthouse grounds to announce Lenhart’s candidacy for sheriff. Gibbs and all three commissioners were at the press conference. At the time of the event, Lenhart was not the sheriff of the county and had not been appointed as sheriff. He was appointed sheriff on Oct. 14, 2011.

At the time of the press conference, Lenhart hadn’t filed his petitions for the office. At that point, he was not the Republican nominee.

Sell said theft in office only applies to public officials and party officials. Lehnart, said Sell, could not be charged with theft in office as he was not a public official or party official at the time of the press conference.

“I find that there has been no violation of R.C. 2921 by John Lenhart, the Republican officials and business leaders present at the press conference or by the Shelby County Commissioners,” wrote Sell. “Further, I find that prosecution under this statute would constitute a violation of these individuals’s First Amendment rights.”

Alleged election falsification (qualifications to run as sheriff). Kimpel and Bastian, in their complaint, suggest that Lenhart didn’t meet statutory qualifications to run for sheriff. They alleged that Lenhart falsified the Candidate of Shelby County Sheriff form he submitted to the Shelby County common Pleas Court.

Sell gathered all the peace officer training Lenhart has completed, along with Lenhart’s law enforcement work history. In the relevant time frame, Lenhart served as the director for Law Enforcement for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation from Jan. 8, 2008, until Jan. 9, 2011. He was sworn in as a BCI special agent in January 2008. He also served as a special deputy for the Allen County and Wood County sheriff offices.

Kimpel was suspended as sheriff on Oct. 6. 2011. The Shelby County Republican Central Committee appointed Lenhart to fill Kimpel’s vacated position on Oct. 12, 2011. The appointment was filed with the Shelby County Board of Elections on Oct. 14, 2011.

Sell wrote that the allegations by Kimpel/Bastian suggest Lenhart election falsification by falsifying the information on the application related to Lenhart’s eligibility to be sheriff, which was sworn in front of Shelby County Common Pleas Court Judge James Stevenson. Even if the allegation were true, wrote Sell, the offense would be a misdemeanor and would be barred by the statute of limitations, which is two years. The alleged false statement on the application was made on Sept. 1, 2011, which is now time-barred from prosecution.

“Normally, the analysis would end with a determination that the alleged crime is barred by statute of limitations,” wrote Sell. “However given the public import of the allegations made by Kimpel/Bastian, I believe it appropriate to address additional reasons election falsification should not be charged.”

Those reasons, said Sell, are:

• Lenhart did not make a false statement. In his application, Lenhart included the time frame he worked with the Ohio Attorney General as director of Law Enforcement (January 2009 to January 2011). He held a valid Peace Officers’s Certificate of Training within the four-year period; and he was employed as a full-time police officer as defined by Ohio Revised Code.

• Lenhart was eligible to be a candidate for sheriff. According to Ohio Revised Code, wrote Sell, to be qualified to run for sheriff a person must have obtained or held, within a four-year period immediately prior to the qualification date, a valid Peace Officer’s Certificate of Training and been employed as a full-time peace officer; or has obtained or held, within the three-year period immediately prior to the qualification date, a valid Basic Peace Officer’s Certificate of Training and have been employed for at least the last three years immediately prior to the qualification date as a full-time law enforcement officer.

Lenhart, wrote Sell, did hold a valid Peace Officer’s Certificate of Training during the relevant time frame. His employment with the Ohio Attorney General and Wood County Sheriff’s Office as a special deputy fulfill the requirement of employment, wrote Sell.

“If my interpretation is mistaken,” wrote Sell, “I find that the definitions of peace officer and law enforcement officer are sufficiently vague that a criminal prosecution should not proceed against Lenhart. This position is driven home by the fact that Lenhart did accurately set forth his position with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in his ‘application,’ Simply put, there was no intention to mislead and criminal charges are wholly inappropriate.”

Alleged election falsification (political party affiliation). Kimpel/Bastian state that Lenhart had been a ‘lifelong Democrat,” wrote Sell. They claim Lenhart falsified the “petition” he circulated to run for sheriff by stating he was a Republican.

“The voting record reflects that Lenhart had voted in party primaries as both a Democrat and Republican over the past 10 years,” wrote Sell. “Lenhart, as discussed before, was appointed by the Shelby County Republican Central Committee to fill Kimpel’s vacated position on Oct. 14, 2011.”

Lenhart submitted his petition and stated he was a Republican, wrote sell. The Shelby County Board of Elections accepted the petition of candidacy on Dec. 12, 2011. No written protest against the petition or candidacy was ever filed.

Because Lenhart was appointed sheriff, he did no hold an elected position as sheriff, wrote Sell. Because he did not hold an elective office, he was eligible to be a candidate for nomination as a member of the Republican party in the 2012 primary election. Criminal charges are not appropriate on the allegation wrote Sell.

Alleged misconduct by chairman of Shelby County Board of Elections. Kimpel/Bastian allege that Gibbs wrongfully certified Lenhart as a candidate for sheriff knowing that Lenhart was not qualified to be sheriff and that Lenhart was not a Republican, wrote Sell. The pair also included allegations concerning past business associations, special favors from Lenhart to Gibbs’s son and some type of family tie-in with Ehemann.

The Board of Elections, which is composed of four members, includes Gibbs, wrote Sell. The entire board accepted all countywide petitions on Dec. 12, 2011, which included petitions by Lenhart and Scott Evans, the Democratic candidate for sheriff.

Prior to the vote, the Republican Central Committee reached out to Ralph Bauer, who was prosecutor at the time, and requested an opinion as to whether Lenhart had met the qualifications to be sheriff. Bauer did no specifically address or offer an opinion as to Lenhart’s eligibility. Bauer directed the committee to the Ohio Revised Code. Bauer’s letter was forwarded to the Board of Elections.

In regards to the other allegations, Sell wrote no specific information was provided by Kimpel/Bastian as it relates to a formal or informal business association between Gibbs and Lenhart; Gibbs’s son was hired around Nov. 30, 2011, to work on a parttime basis at the county dog pound; and Ehemann’s daughter and Gibbs’s son were engaged to be married in May 2015.

In conclusion, Sell wrote:

• The courthouse is a public forum and the use of its grounds to conduct an announcement of the candidate of a sheriff was permissible. The de minus cost of electricity to power a microphone does not warrant felony prosecution for theft.

• Lenhart was both qualified and eligible to seek the office for sheriff in 2011.

• Any dispute over the qualifications or eligibility of Lenhart could have been resolved through the protest processes set forth in the election laws.

• The Shelby County Board of Elections handled the acceptance of Lenhart’s candidacy petition properly.

• No evidence is present to suggest that Gibbs acted independently of the board in these matters or committed any type of misconduct as a board member.

“For these reasons and the others set forth in the body of this memorandum, I have chosen not to bring charges against any person implicated in the allegations raised by Kimpel/Bastian,” wrote Sell. “Finally it is my hope that this memorandum and its supporting exhibits will bring this matter to a close. I firmly believe further investigation by another prosecutor or law enforcement agency would be a waste of time, resources and taxpayer money. The past and current public servants implicated by the Kimpel/Bastian allegations deserve better than for this matter to go further.”