Court filings accuse New Chicago Police Chief Earl Mayo of selling a seized handgun tied to an upcoming trial.
NEW CHICAGO, IN — New Chicago Police Chief Earl D. Mayo faces felony charges after investigators said he sold a handgun from a police evidence case to a Hobart pawn shop and later tried to get it back.
The case has shaken a small Lake County town of about 1,900 people and placed its police department under outside control while the criminal case moves forward. Court filings accuse Mayo of theft, official misconduct, attempted obstruction of justice and unlawful possession of anabolic steroids. Officials said the investigation began with a firearm trace tied to an upcoming criminal trial and widened after detectives compared police evidence records with pawn shop documents.
Mayo was arrested Friday in Clark County, Ohio, and booked into the Clark County Jail after authorities said he was wanted in Indiana. Ohio records listed him as being held on a fugitive from justice charge. Charges were filed Sunday in Lake County, Indiana. His father, Indiana State Police Maj. Jerry Williams, said the family was “deeply concerned” and called the allegations troubling. Williams, who is running for Lake County sheriff, said Mayo is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and said the family would not comment further on undisclosed details of the case.
Investigators said the key firearm was a Taurus G3 handgun connected to a pending criminal case. A Lake County sheriff’s police commander received a firearm trace request Thursday for a gun tied to an upcoming trial, court records said. Detectives then learned the gun had been sold to Mega Cash Pawn in Hobart, which investigators described as unusual because the weapon was being held as evidence in a police investigation. Court documents allege Mayo was the arresting officer in the case involving the gun and later sold it to the pawn shop.
Pawn shop records became a central part of the case. A manager told investigators that Mayo had personally sold multiple guns to the business, and documents listed Mayo as the seller of 12 guns, court records said. Prosecutors allege Mayo took a Taurus G3 owned by the Town of New Chicago without permission and sold it April 29, 2025. The indictment says the act removed a firearm from police custody while it was still linked to an active case. The filings also accuse Mayo of committing theft while serving as a public official, forming the basis for official misconduct counts.
The investigation moved quickly after detectives found the pawn records. Another New Chicago officer told Lake County sheriff’s detectives that Mayo called and asked him to go to the pawn shop and buy back the gun, court documents allege. The officer also said Mayo asked him to go to Mayo’s Merrillville home and retrieve other weapons. The court filings say Mayo specifically mentioned suppressors or suppressed firearms kept in a safe. Investigators also alleged Mayo made comments that he had items at home that federal agents would not find.
Authorities searched Mayo’s home in Merrillville as part of the investigation. A second person, Tanika Roshawn Borders, 47, of Merrillville, also was charged after investigators said she tried to help Mayo. Court documents said a Lake County commander found Borders at Mayo’s front door and that she tried to destroy several glass vials. Investigators said she later acknowledged Mayo had told her to go to his home to collect testosterone and steroids. Police said the vials contained veterinary grade anabolic steroids that were not for human consumption.
The charges against Mayo include eight counts, seven of them felonies, according to Lake County court records cited by local reports. The listed counts include felony theft, felony official misconduct, felony obstruction of justice, two felony counts of unlawful possession of an anabolic steroid, another felony theft count and a misdemeanor theft count. Prosecutors said the steroid counts involve substances including Trenbolone and Equipoise. The filings do not show that Mayo has entered a plea. It was not immediately clear from available records whether he had an attorney who could speak for him.
The Town of New Chicago placed Mayo on administrative leave after the arrest, and Lake County police took over policing duties in the town, according to local reports. The move left a neighboring agency responsible for day-to-day law enforcement while the criminal case and administrative response unfold. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police assisted in the investigation. The allegations involve both the integrity of a criminal case and the handling of property held by a police department, making the evidence trail a key issue for prosecutors.
Williams’ public statement added a personal and political layer to the case because he is the Democratic nominee for Lake County sheriff. He said he and his wife raised their children with a strong foundation of values and were struggling to reconcile the allegations with those values. “If it is ultimately established that Earl engaged in the conduct alleged by the government, then he must and should accept responsibility for his actions and face the consequences,” Williams said. He also said the legal process should proceed fairly and impartially.
New Chicago residents and officials were left waiting for the next court steps after a holiday weekend arrest that began in Ohio and shifted to Indiana court filings. The case now turns on the Lake County charges, Mayo’s return to Indiana and future hearings in Superior Court. Mayo remained under criminal accusation Monday, with outside police handling New Chicago patrol duties and investigators continuing to review the evidence trail.
Author note: Last updated May 25, 2026.