A candidate for the Metropolitan School District of Pike Township school board who is charged with felony domestic battery will represent herself in the case after her attorney withdrew Friday, according to Marion County court records.
Sherie Latoya Scott, 41, is charged with domestic battery committed in the presence of a child under 16, a Level 6 felony, and domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor. Prosecutors filed the charges Oct. 3 in Marion Superior Court after Scott’s arrest at her Pike Township home on Oct. 2. WFYI first reported the arrest Thursday.
At an Oct. 9 hearing, Magistrate Heather Barton granted the motion to withdraw filed by Scott’s attorney, Fatima Johnson. The court also held a hearing on Scott’s request to represent herself, and court records show she will proceed without counsel. A pretrial conference is set for Nov. 4, the day after the election.
Scott is one of four candidates running for three seats on the Pike Township school board in the Nov. 3 election. WFYI reported that the other three candidates are incumbents. Scott is a longtime educator who has worked in Pike Township schools and served as director of schools for the Indiana Charter School Board, according to WFYI.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer, officers were dispatched to a domestic disturbance call placed by Scott’s husband. WFYI reported the call came in at 4:15 p.m. The affidavit says the husband told officers Scott struck him on the left side of the face while trying to take his phone as he recorded her during an argument inside the home.
The affidavit states that officers watched the husband’s cell phone video. It says the video showed Scott twice reaching for the phone with her hand while the couple argued in the same room as their two daughters, who were crying. The officer wrote that he observed two scratch marks on the left side of the husband’s face, one with a small amount of blood.
According to the affidavit, Scott told officers nothing physical had happened and that she had been trying to take the phone so her husband would stop recording her. The affidavit also states that Scott told officers her husband had filed for divorce, and that she asked why officers were not arresting him for violating a custody agreement.
Magistrate Peter Haughan found probable cause on Oct. 3 and issued a no-contact order. At an Oct. 6 initial hearing, bond was set at $5,000 cash, which court records show was posted Oct. 7.
Under Indiana law, a person is disqualified from being a candidate for, or assuming, an elected office if a jury or judge announces a guilty verdict against the person for a felony, or if the person pleads guilty or no contest to a felony. School board seats are elected offices covered by the statute.
The law says a later reduction of the felony to a Class A misdemeanor does not remove the disqualification. A person is not disqualified for a felony conviction that has been pardoned, reversed, vacated, set aside or expunged.
A pending charge alone does not affect a candidate’s eligibility. Scott’s name remains on the ballot. The charges are allegations. Scott is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court
