Authorities took New Chicago Police Chief Earl Mayo into custody in Ohio’s Clark County on Friday, then Indiana prosecutors filed eight charges against him on Sunday in Lake County, including official misconduct, obstruction of justice, theft and unlawful possession of an anabolic steroid.
A Lake County grand jury returned a multi-count indictment that accuses Mayo of taking a Taurus G3 handgun owned by the Town of New Chicago without permission and selling it to a Lake County pawn shop on April 29, 2025. Court filings say a separate count alleges he later tried to recover the pawned firearm on Friday before it could be used as evidence in a criminal proceeding.
Prosecutors say the case began when a firearm trace tied to an upcoming trial exposed mismatches between evidence logs and pawn shop records. Detectives later concluded the Taurus G3 had been sold with other firearms at Mega Cash Pawn in Hobart on April 29, 2025, and a pawn shop manager confirmed that Mayo personally sold multiple guns and later tried to arrange the gun’s return through intermediaries.
The indictment also alleges Mayo possessed anabolic steroids, including Trenbolone and Equipoise, without a valid prescription. Investigators said a woman connected to him tried to destroy glass vials containing suspected steroids when officers confronted her at his home in Merrillville, where detectives also searched the property. Separately, investigators allege Mayo made statements suggesting he kept items at home that “the feds would never find,” including firearm suppressors.
The inquiry was assisted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police, the agency where Mayo’s father serves as major. Indiana State Police Major Jerry Williams confirmed the arrest on Saturday and said in a statement that he and his family were deeply concerned by the information involving his son. He said they had very little information about the incident, that the allegations were troubling, and that Earl Mayo is presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise. Williams added that if the conduct alleged by the government is ultimately established, his son must accept responsibility and face the consequences, but he said the family could not comment further because of the seriousness of the matter and the ongoing legal proceedings.
The charges turn on a narrow but damaging claim: that the police chief is accused of moving a department-owned firearm into a pawn shop, then trying to get it back once investigators linked it to a criminal case. With the indictment now filed, Mayo will have to answer those allegations in court as the evidence trail from New Chicago to Hobart and Merrillville comes under formal review.
