Joe Deters: Court clerk employee was paid roughly $1,000 per search warrant she provided

In announcing an indictment against an employee of the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Office Thursday, Prosecutor Joe Deters said the case was “one of the most disturbing cases we’ve ever dealt with... we don’t know how long it was going on."

Clerk of Court Aftab Pureval called the alleged actions of Yakyma Boyd, a 22-year employee of his office, "sickening" and "unconscionable" when announcing Boyd had been fired.

According to police, Boyd, 45, of West End, was providing search warrant information to a third party who would deliver warnings to the targets of those warrants.

Boyd and Ernest Bryant, 49, of College Hill were indicted on charges of tampering with evidence, bribery, obstructing justice and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

Boyd was also indicted on the charge of theft in office. Bryant was also indicted on charges of possession and trafficking cocaine and weapons under disability.

Deters said there were numerous search warrants executed when the sheriff’s office believed there would be drugs found at the location and there weren’t. That created great suspicion with investigators, which led them to Boyd.

Officials said they have no idea how long been Boyd had been doing this or how many cases could’ve been impacted.

But, “there’s no question this wasn’t the first time it happened,” Deters said.

Deters said Boyd was being paid roughly $1,000 per search warrant.

“That she would use sensitive information for criminal activity, that she would endanger law enforcement is sickening to me,” Hamilton County Clerk Aftab Pureval said. “It is a violation of the public trust.”

The clerk’s office is conducting an internal review to ensure Boyd was "one bad actor" and that she acted alone.

“There is simply no place for corruption in the courthouse,” Pureval said. “It must be routed out and ended.”

New security reforms implemented in clerk's office

Pureval announced three new reforms to protect the public in light of this situation.

First, all search warrants will be physically removed to a secure, locked location an will only be accessible by a supervisor. Only officers and the judge will know details of a search warrant until it is executed.

“This will limit exposure of information falling into the wrong hands,” Pureval said.

Second, the office will screen all employees when they are hired and every four years, effective immediately.

"This reform will ensure that our staff maintains the highest ethical, legal and moral standards,” Pureval said.

Finally, all employees will go through ethics training annually.

There was no ethics training or confidentiality policy in place before Pureval was elected to the position.