Former Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy handcuffed, fingerprinted and photographed after arrest on two felony perjury charges

By Gregory Orear

General Manager/Editor

TROY – A former Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy accused of lying under oath resulting in the murder conviction of an innocent man turned himself in today a week after being charged with felony perjury.

Michael Allen Merkel, 44, surrendered during a bond reduction hearing Tuesday afternoon. Bailiffs led him out of the courtroom, handcuffed him, and took him to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department where he would be processed, including fingerprints and a mug shot.

Merkel then posted a $50,000 cashier’s check he brought with him for his bond. Representatives from Rise Up Probation office in Troy then installed a GPS-monitoring bracelet as part of the conditions of his bond release.

The Lincoln County prosecutor’s office filed Class A felony charges last week against Merkel, accusing him of lying to secure a murder conviction of Russ Faria in his original 2013 trial and his 2015 retrial, in which he was found not guilty of killing his wife, Betsy.

Merkel testified in both trials a camera malfunction resulted in photos taken at the crime scene of showing “absolutely nothing.” However, during the retrial, Faria’s defense attorney Joel Schwartz produced 132 photos that contradicted Merkel’s testimony.

One of the prosecution’s key witnesses in the first trial, Pam Hupp, has since been charged with Betsy’s murder and is scheduled for an August 2026 trial.

Prior to his formal arrest, Merkel stood next to his attorney, Joel Eisenstein, before Associate Judge Michael Jacobs in a failed attempt to modify those conditions.

Eisenstein labeled Jacobs’ requirement for house arrest and the GPS-monitoring bracelet as punitive.

“They have not provided you one ounce of evidence that he’s a flight risk, or a danger to himself and others or the community, or any victim,” he said.  “So there’s no basis for your condition that he have the GPS and home confinement.  That’s a punishment, Your Honor. He’s not been found guilty of that. You don’t want him to be employed? You want him to stay at home on the GPS?”

Prosecutor John Krehmeyer, who originally requested a $250,000 cash-only bond, argued passionately against any other modifications, focusing on Eisenstein’s claim this was a “victimless” crime.

“Why don’t we ask Mr. Faria? Why don’t we ask him right there? Why don’t we ask that gentleman sitting there if this is a victimless crime.” Krehmeyer said, pointing to Faria who attended the hearing. “It was three-plus years he spent incarcerated in the Lincoln County Jail. Did he just get those years back? Is it all okay Mr. Faria? Is everything fine now? It is not.”

The prosecuting attorney described the impact of Merkel’s testimony.

“That testimony that he gave … wasn’t just innocuous testimony. Mr. Schwartz was doing a cross-examination to prove that there was no cleanup that was taking place at that crime shoot. With those photographs, he could have made that point to that jury,” Krehmeyer said. “When they tell him there are no photographs that don’t show anything, that was a blatant lie and then subjected a jury to believing evidence that he was testifying to, that was untrue, and that was one of the reasons we believe it led to the conviction.”

Krehmeyer also contended Faria never would have even been charged without that “evidence.”

“It certainly led to the probable cause statement being filed against him because there were no charges until ‘evidence’ of this cleanup came up,” he said. “There were no charges until all of a sudden, that happened. And when Mr. Schwartz was trying to say, I’d like an opportunity to cross-examine on that, well, good luck with that because we don’t have any photos, we just have our word to say it happens. That’s an outright lie.”

Krehmeyer also mentioned Merkel’s unwillingness to surrender himself before Tuesday.

“On Thursday afternoon …Mr. Eisenstein … said my client’s on his way up here because I said I want him to be turned in before I want to talk about any conditions of the bond,” Krehmeyer said. “He’s on his way he said. Here we are, what, four…five days later, and we’re finding out that he never came up and turned himself in. That concerns me, Judge.”

After being charged with harassment and stalking of a Lincoln County deputy investigating the Faria case, Merkel allegedly moved without providing his new address to the state. Eisenstein disputed that, claiming Merkel lives in St. Charles County with his parents who he said have failing health. The Lincoln County Journal located an Edwardsville, Ill., address for Merkel, which is where Krehmeyer said he believes Merkel is residing.

Eisenstein also cited several cases in which the prosecutor’s office set bond at a significantly lower amount with no house arrest conditions. While those cases involved domestic assaults and weapons charges, Krehmeyer said the crimes couldn’t be compared, stating Merkel’s actions not only impacted Faria but the entire judicial system.

“We are counting on you to be fruitful and ethical in how you act. The society and the legal system that we have is fundamentally based upon that,” he said referring to law enforcement. “When somebody violates that trust, we should hold them to a higher standard. And I think that when we have officers that do that, it ruins the reputation of so many officers that are out there doing a good job. They’re trying. They’re doing their best. They’re working hard. They’re being honest. They’re being ethical. So when we get somebody who does that, you’re right. We are outraged by that.”

After listening to the two attorneys, Judge Jacobs said the bond and all its conditions would remain unchanged, specifying Merkel would be allowed to leave home for court, medical appointments, visits with his attorney and church.

After Eisenstein then entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client, Jacobs set a preliminary hearing for July 31 at 2 p.m.