Three men were arraigned in federal court on drug related charges.

Court documents show the men have connections to former Williamsburg police officer Bradley Nighbert ... who is currently serving time because he admitted to being involved in the burglary of a pharmacy.

Two of the men also have connections to Whitley County Sheriff Lawrence Hodge, who is facing criminal charges.

Jerry Bunch, Gregory Smith, and Clarence King all pleaded not guilty before a judge in federal court.
The three were arrested by federal authorities and are facing drug related charges.
The grand jury accuses the men of committing the crimes within the past few years.

The charges range from possession and distribution of cocaine to oxycontin and hydrocodone.
Smith has four counts and reportedly worked as a prisoner transport officer for the Whitley County Sheriff's Department.

Bunch faces the most counts out of the three men ...he has ten.
He is a tow truck operator that was one of the 27 witnesses to testified before a special grand jury.
The jury was investigating possible wrong doings by the Whitley County Sheriff Lawrence Hodge.
They jury came back with a true bill showing a 21 count indictment accusing Hodge of abuse of public trust and tampering with physical evidence.

All three men will be back in court on January 10th for the trial.
No attorneys wanted to comment about the ongoing case.