HANCOCK COUNTY — Chief deputy prosecutor Marie Castetter has been appointed as a special prosecutor to handle the Marion County case involving a state representative accused of drunken driving and other charges.
State Rep. Dan Forestal, 36, is facing three charges, according to an affidavit filed by investigators with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. He was arrested on the evening of Aug. 10 on the east side of Indianapolis on suspicion of drunken driving. He also is accused of resisting arrest and impersonating a police officer earlier that evening, the affidavit said.
Marion County Superior Court Judge Charnette D. Garner appointed Castetter late last week to handle the case against Forestal, according to a court order.
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Castetter, who worked in the Marion County prosecutor’s office before coming to Hancock County, said she’ll make sure the case is handled exactly the same as it would be if anyone was facing the same charges.
“The purpose of obtaining a special prosecutor is when there is a conflict of interest, or a perception of a conflict of interest,” Castetter said. “We don’t want the public to lose faith.”
The Marion County prosecutor’s office sought the special prosecutor because Forestal donated money and volunteered for Prosecutor Terry Curry’s campaign. Both are Democrats.
Forestal’s uncle is Marion County Sheriff Kerry J. Forestal. Dan Forestal told the officers who arrested him that he was going to sue them for violating his civil rights. He also identified himself as the sheriff’s nephew, the affidavit said.
Castetter noted while this case does bring heightened media exposure because of the defendant, appointing a special prosecutor on a case is not rare. She said she’s actually working on several other specially appointed cases.
The charge of impersonating a public servant is a Level 6 felony carrying up to 2½ years in jail. The charges of drunken driving and resisting law enforcement are both misdemeanors.
Forestal also is a firefighter for the Indianapolis Fire Department, which has suspended him without pay for 240 hours and remanded him into an employee assistance program. Once the suspension s served, Forestal will be placed on administrative assignment IFD said in a news release.
This is not the first time Forestal has been disciplined by the fire department. He was suspended as a probationary firefighter in 2007 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. In a letter to the department, Forestal wrote nothing like that would ever happen again. He was also suspended in 2016 for violating rules and regulations, according to IFD documents.
Forestal was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 2012. He serves as the assistant Democratic caucus chair, according to indianahousedemocrats.org. Forestal is also the ranking minority member of the Roads and Transportation Committee and is a member of the Elections and Apportionment; Financial Institutions; and Public Policy committees.
He’s also served as a bailiff in Marion County Superior Court 11 and as a guard at Marion County Jail II. Forestal represents the district that stretches from downtown Indianapolis and Fountain Square east through Irvington to I-465.
Forestal is being represented by Indianapolis attorney James Voyles. Forestal is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court Tuesday, Aug. 27 in Marion County Superior Court, Castetter said.
