Councilman accused of using parents address to vote, run outside of residence

 

PULASKI COUNTY, Ind.,--- According to court documents, Pulaski County Councilman Brian Young who’s facing multiple felony charges told investigators he lives in the third district, but according to investigators he doesn’t live there at all.

Young who was arrested on a warrant Tuesday, was charged with two counts of voting outside his precinct residence, one count of theft, one count of perjury, and one count of official misconduct.

The court documents allege Young used his parents address as his own to vote and run outside of his residence.

ABC57 knocked on the door at both addresses Wednesday to see if we could find him at either. First, we went to where police said he lived and got no answer.

After that we drove to his parents, where a woman answered the door, she told us no comment.

Officials launched an investigation in July of 2021 after they received multiple complaints over several years about Councilman Young’s residency.

Through investigations they determined Young was actually using his parents address in the northern part of the county to vote and run in the district he was elected in, and that his primary residence nine and half miles away was actually in the county’s first council district.

“It’s a big deal at this point because living in one district and running in another is committing fraud at that point. So, if someone in that other district would actually run for office, they could actually hold that office by getting elected in that position,” said Sergeant Frederick Rogers, a lead investigator on the case in the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office.

Rogers also explained they used technology and multiple warrants to determine where Young actually spent most of his time.

“The digital aspect is a very significant key factor in our case here. I think it made our case very solid in this case because it was a lot of he said she said game, you can point the finger back-and-forth but with digital technology you really can’t argue the fact that it puts the device, the information where needs to be anywhere a matter of 3 to 9 feet,” he added.

The third district councilman, who is up for re-election is facing multiple felony charges, which means his official position could hang in the balance.

“As of right now Mr. Young is still on the county council unless the council votes to remove him and he will remain on the ballot because he is not convicted of a felony,” said Pulaski County Clerk Jolynn Behny.

Due to conflicts of interests in Pulaski County, Young will appear in court next week April 13, but it will be a LaPorte county judge over the case.

Early voting is underway here in the county and goes until Monday May 2, with elections to happen on Tuesday May 3.

If you have any questions about voting you’re urged to reach out to the county clerk office at (574) 946-3313.