Three lawsuits filed with the Graham County Clerk of Court’s allege a long list of accusations against the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
Brent and Reba McMahan – both former employees of the sheriff’s office – filed the suits against previous sheriff Joseph Jones, current Sheriff Jerry Crisp, the Graham County Republican Party, GOP Chairman Steve Odom and the sheriff’s office.
Among the list of items being alleged by Reba are wrongful termination, blacklisting, libel and sexual harassment. Brent’s suit – directly filed against Jones – lists wrongful termination and blacklisting.
Inappropriate comments
Reba’s suit against Jones alleges that around June 2019, the former sheriff began making “numerous unwanted sexual comments” toward Reba, which allegedly continued until August 2019. Reba was hired on April 4, 2019.
The suit alleges that Jones “subsequently began similar conduct with another Graham County Sheriff’s Office employee.” Jones allegedly threatened to terminate Reba’s position if she reported the misconduct.
Reba also alleges that she observed “mishandling of evidence, improper use of confidential informants, using false information to obtain search warrants and other concerns.” The suit states that Reba reported her observations to Jones and other superiors within the office, but the issues were “ignored.”
A meeting then took place between Reba and District Attorney Ashley Welch, where all allegations were presented. The suit goes on to say that after the meeting, “Defendant Joseph Jones … subsequently began to further harass and threaten” Reba’s employment over the report she had given to Welch.
Jones resigned from his post June 29, less than midway through his first term, with Crisp being sworn in after nomination by the county’s Republican Party on July 28.
Reba’s suit alleges that she was terminated the same day that Crisp took office, “in retaliation for her reporting the … misconduct occurring at the Graham County Sheriff’s Office to her chain of command and District Attorney Welch.”
Ending the list of allegations Reba made against Jones was that the former sheriff “wrongfully contacted other regional Sheriffs and law enforcement officials and gave them information designed to prevent Plaintiff from obtaining employment within her field.”
Mismanagement of funds
Under the fifth cause of action in the lawsuit – listed as “Violation of U.S.C. 4712” – Reba also alleges that she was terminated “in reprisal for disclosing information about Defendants Jones and Graham County Sheriff’s Office” in her meeting with Welch about what was classified as “gross mismanagement of a Federal grant …”
When contacted about the allegation, County Manager Becky Garland noted that under state law, the sheriff’s office is not under the direct supervision of either Garland or the board of commissioners.
However, she did say the sheriff’s office has received “less than” $750 over the past five years in federal drug reversion funds – which are held in a restricted bank account – and $5,000 annually from the U.S. Forest Service as part of a contract to provide patrol assistance to the service.
Garland added that the sheriff’s office has only received one grant in the last 10 years: a JAG-PPE grant this year to help with COVID-19 protocols.
“I have no knowledge of malfeasance with federal funds that come into – or originate – from the county books and records,” Garland said.
Social media impact
In her suit against Odom and the Graham County Republican Party, a Facebook post was published the same day as Reba’s termination from the sheriff’s office.
The suit alleges that Odom’s post publicly announced Reba’s termination, citing “serious policy violations, personal failings, inability to perform her job correctly and felonious criminal conduct.” The suit continues to say that the post remained active for “numerous” days, with Odom interacting with the public in the comments section.
On the advice of counsel, Odom offered only a brief comment.
“The complaint filed by the Plaintiff contains mere allegations which have not been proven, and will be fully contested,” Odom said. “The full story and the truth of the matter will come out at trial.
“Therefore, the public should not draw any conclusions at this time.”
“Blacklisted”
Brent’s lawsuit – directed toward Jones and the sheriff’s office – maps out a timeline that started with after Brent was hired as a narcotics detective in September 2019.
The document states that in his capacity, Brent observed the same misconduct alleged in Reba’s suit. Brent also held a meeting with Welch, with morphed into a meeting with the State Bureau of Investigation. Brent agreed to take a polygraph during the meeting, but was later “demoted from narcotics detective to road deputy and then demoted again to courthouse security in response to his whistleblowing actions.”
The suit also documents a written warning and suspensions that were rendered on Brent after his meeting with Welch.
According to the suit, Jones and the sheriff’s office justified their actions toward Brent as punishment over the handling of a traffic stop, “which was not Plaintiff’s stop.”
The suit continues on to state that Brent was later terminated for his report to Welch and the SBI, with Jones allegedly taking the same measures to contact regional offices to prevent Brent from joining another force.
Retaliation
Another charge of discrimination was received by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Nov. 10, by a former employee who worked for Jones during his tenure as sheriff. The charge alleges retaliatory discrimination, based on the employee’s termination from the office on July 30.
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” Crisp said in response to the suits.
Jones – who was promoted to police chief in Andrews on Dec. 8 – declined comment when contacted by The Graham Star, as did Welch.