Wayne County Auditor Mark Hoelscher pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of intimidation during a Feb. 11 initial hearing in Superior Court 3.
Special Judge Matthew Cox of Union County informed Hoelscher, 77, of his rights and special prosecutor Jason Ray, also of Union County, read the charges against Hoelscher during the five-minute hearing. After Hoelscher entered his not-guilty plea, Cox scheduled a bench trial for 2 p.m. April 11.
If Hoelscher prefers a jury trial, that request must be made at least 10 days prior to the trial date. Hoelscher told the judge that he plans to hire an attorney.
Hoelscher is charged with leaving handwritten notes on envelopes in the mailboxes of two Esteb Road neighbors. The notes read, “Break into my house again or hurt any of my animals I will give you something to arrest me for.” Hoelscher keeps alpacas, angus cows and sheep on his property, and four animals have died since the Jan. 16 incident.
Hoelscher provided WWN with a copy of a certified letter he received from one of the neighbors, Gary Wolff. The letter is dated Jan. 17 and says it is in response to the note Wolff found in his mailbox. The letter informed Hoelscher that Wolff called law enforcement about the note and the note was in possession of the Indiana State Police, which conducted the investigation.
The letter from Wolff concludes: “I am in no way intimidated by any of your actions what so ever (sic). It has never been my intention to have you arrested. I have no speculation as to why you are doing this to me. I am sure this is not over, as you don’t seem to be able to leave well enough alone.”
Hoelscher told WWN that he interprets the last line as a threat.
Wolff bought about 58 acres across from Hoelscher and began establishing a consumer fireworks storage area. He filed a zoning variance request to allow the storage, but that request was denied Feb. 13 by the Wayne County Board of Zoning Appeals.
Hoelscher, who had sent a letter to neighbors asking them to contact the county planning department if they opposed Wolff’s request, spoke against the variance during the BZA meeting.
A version of this article appeared in the February 19 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.