#575 | What’s the Deal W/Madison Co Sheriff John Beeman & the Sumner Case? | The Political Spotlight

December 18th, 2025  |  1 hr 56 mins

dr. katherine callahan, former county councilor steve sumner, fugitive from justice, howard county maryland, madison county indiana, madison county politics, madison county sheriff john beeman, political activist, record requests, sharon bailey barker, twenty-thousand dollar reward, united states marshals service

Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey dives deep into the strange case of former Madison County Councilor and preacher Steve Sumner, who spent more than two years as a fugitive before his arrest, following a $25,000 reward offered by Dr. Katherine Callahan.

Bilbrey walks through the arrests of Sumner and his girlfriend, Sharon Bailey Barker, their extraditions back to Indiana, and the troubling questions surrounding who provided the tip, who should receive the reward money, and why the Madison County Sheriff John Beeman acted so strangely, trying to get Callahan to issue payment to someone who did not call in the tip. Answers begin to surface—after Bilbrey receives the records he requested from Howard County, Maryland. But this story is only getting started. #ThePoliticalSpotlight