An ex-Gary cop may avoid a criminal record after allegedly lying about his injuries while collecting $17,000 in workers’ compensation, according to court records.
Nicholas T. Sanchez, 47, of Hobart, signed a pre-trial diversion agreement filed Friday.
Court records allege Sanchez was recorded on video playing pickleball a month after he signed paperwork saying he was hurt after slipping on snow-covered stairs in December 2022 while on the job.
Under the deal, if he stays out of trouble for a year, pays $479 in court fees and $2,500 in restitution, prosecutors will agree to drop charges.
Sanchez, a nearly 10-year veteran, quit Gary P.D. on April 22. 2023, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton’s spokeswoman Erika Blackwell said in an email.
He was charged May 11, 2023 with two counts of Level 6 felony fraud and two misdemeanor counts of fraud.
Sanchez went on workers’ compensation from Dec. 16 to Feb. 16, 2023, according to Gary Police Cmdr. James Bond, an administrative sergeant in charge of work status and personnel files.
Sanchez said he “fell” on stairs covered in “ice” and “snow” on Dec. 16 on the 5900 block of W. 36th Avenue.
An initial diagnosis said Sanchez could be put on desk duty. He was placed completely off work, according to the affidavit.
A Gary officer told Bond he learned Sanchez was set to play in January 2023 in a Griffith pickleball tournament at Match Point Sports and Fitness, 1111 Reyome Drive.
Video footage from Match Point showed Sanchez playing there on Jan. 20. There were no signs Sanchez was in any pain, “discomfort” or “medical impediment,” lead investigator Indiana State Police Det. Brian McCall wrote. Other footage showed him lifting heavy gym bags.
Bond, a 20-plus year veteran, was later effectively forced into retirement in August as he faced an unrelated federal indictment for child pornography involving an underaged male police intern.
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