HOCKING COUNTY, Ohio — A former chief deputy with the Hocking County Sheriff's Office charged with witness intimidation and eight other charges pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday.
Caleb Moritz was indicted on three charges in 2023 and seven more charges earlier this month. Those charges are:
- Two counts of corrupting another with drugs
- One County of tampering with evidence
- Two counts of unlawful transaction in weapons
- One count of forgery
- One count of theft
- Two counts of intimidation of a witness
- One count of grand theft
According to court records, both intimidation of a witness charges stemmed from incidents that took place between Sept. 1 and Oct. 14, 2022. The grand theft and theft charges are due to an alleged offense that took place earlier this year in April 2023.
Both counts of corrupting another with drugs and the single count of tampering with evidence took place between January 2021 and April 2023, said the clerk's office. The two counts of unlawful transactions in weapons are from incidents between April 2021 and August 2023, while the forgery charge is from a single incident in January 2019.
Moritz has been out on a $50,000 bond and the judge continued that bond.
Moritz did not answer questions after court on Tuesday, but previously said "the truth is on our side and the evidence is on our side." He said in March that he would fight the charges and that, "We have overwhelming evidence that no one was every forced or coerced or anything like that to recant their story."
Moritz ran an unsuccessful race for sheriff in the March primary this year.
His trial is scheduled for April 19.