Image Credit: Knox County Sheriff’s Department & Canva
Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
Eleven individuals with connections to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), including two that were on the May Republican primary ballot as candidates for Sheriff, who were federally indicted on theft and conspiracy charges in a years-long investigation all pleaded “Not Guilty” at their arraignment hearings last week, though two of the suspects had waivers for their appearances.
The July 1 arraignment brought together all the current and former KCSO employees connected with one of the largest law enforcement indictments in Tennessee history, save former Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones and former assistant chief deputy David Henderson, who waived their in-person appearances.
Jones was one of the two accused who ran on the primary ballot, and Henderson already pleaded guilty to defrauding the sheriff’s office last August for conspiracy to commit federal program fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced for this charge in October, which stands separate from the new indictment to which he pleaded “not guilty” last week.
The other candidate under indictment, David Amburn, was endorsed by current Sheriff Tom Spangler in the primary race, and was one of the reasons a third candidate, Mike Davis, challenged the election results, which were ultimately upheld by the Tennessee GOP’s State Primary Board.
All eleven suspects are accused of conspiracy to commit theft, theft of property over $250,000, and theft of services over $60,000 over several years by using the KCSO narcotics credit card and seized cash fund to make unauthorized personal purchases and completing personal projects while on duty using KCSO resources and equipment.
Senior Judge Don R. Ash was appointed to oversee the case after all the Knox County Criminal Court judges recused themselves. Ash told the defendants that handling all 11 trials together would be “unrealistic”, and that should the cases make it to trial without plea agreements first, they will be split with two defendants going first and then three sets of three after that.
The order and groupings have not yet been determined by prosecutors, but Ash said the goal is to have a new trial every 90 days.
Scott Jones, attorney for one of the defendants, said in an interview that he believes there are problems with the indictments.
“You’ve got an unwarranted pre-indictment delay. How can you justifiably say that you had an investigation going on almost 10 years ago, and you have, for lack of a better term, sat on your hands and bringing an indictment? At some point in time, a criminally accused has a right to a speedy and an appropriate trial. You don’t get to just, if you will, put it in your back pocket and bring it out when you feel it’s convenient,” Jones said.
He also has mixed feelings about the defendants being grouped together for trial.
“I think it can cut both ways,” Jones said. “I mean, i.e., you might have a situation where a jury looks at an individual who has more involvement and says, okay, that’s the guilty party. Then likewise, it could also bleed off on it. Long story short, one of those situations where you find yourself in a bed with a dog with fleas, sometimes you end up with bites.”
Since the charges against all 11 defendants are felonies, they face potentially serious prison sentences if convicted. The conspiracy and theft of services charges carry 8-12 years each while the property theft carries 15-25 years. It will remain at Ash’s discretion whether to stack the sentences or allow them to run concurrently to shorten the time served.
And if convicted of even one of the felonies, none of the men would be eligible for probation or judicial diversion that would keep them out of prison, and they would all be required to forfeit their pensions. Some may even have to repay some of their already received pensions, per the county policy.
The next hearing date is scheduled for August 17 at 9 a.m., where Judge Ash will take up filed motions, including a handful of motions to dismiss charges which have already been filed.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
