Former Hocking County Chief Deputy Caleb Moritz was found guilty Thursday in Ross County, closing the book on a drawn-out corruption case that has bounced between counties, judges and trial dates since 2023. Moritz resigned from the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office in 2023.
According to WSYX, a Ross County jury convicted Moritz on one count of corrupting another with drugs, two counts of intimidation of a witness, one count of unlawful transaction in weapons, two counts of theft and one count of forgery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2026.
The case was first filed in Hocking County in 2023, then shifted to Ross County at the joint request of both sides in an effort to limit the risk of local bias, Logan Daily reported. Local media tracked every twist, from the venue change to the repeated shakeups on the bench.
The first trial effort collapsed in a mistrial after a judge ruled that prosecutors had failed to turn over a key cell-phone extraction report tied to a witness, according to the Scioto Valley Guardian. That discovery fight, plus a string of judicial recusals and scheduling clashes, pushed the case across multiple court terms before jurors finally returned Thursday’s verdict.
What Comes Next
Moritz is due back in Ross County Common Pleas Court for sentencing on May 1, as reported by WSYX. Offenses such as corrupting another with drugs and witness intimidation are felonies under Ohio law and can bring prison time along with long-term fallout, including making a return to sworn law-enforcement work effectively impossible.
Local Context
The guilty verdict lands while Hocking County offices face their own broader scrutiny. In September 2025, the Ohio Auditor of State issued a finding for recovery stating that Moritz was overpaid about $1,041.62 in vacation severance, according to the Auditor’s press release. That financial issue, paired with the criminal case, has kept residents and local officials locked on every development.
The Ross County docket will now show the run-up to sentencing, including any written filings from prosecutors and the defense. Court documents entered at the May 1 hearing are expected to spell out the state’s recommendation, the defense’s pitch for leniency and the judge’s final decision on Moritz’s punishment.
