Sheriff

Peter Dougherty, president of the Jefferson County Board of Education, Tuesday was appointed to replace ousted Jefferson County Sheriff Bobby Shirley on a 3-2 vote following public interviews. Jefferson County Commission members Walter Pellish, Dale Manuel and Patsy Noland voted for Dougherty. Commissioners Jane Tabb and Lyn Widmyer went for retired Charles Town Police Chief Louis Brunswick. Steve Groh, an assistant county prosecutor, the third candidate interviewed Tuesday, received no votes.  The three candidates were singled out for interviews from an original list of 16 applicants.

Peter Dougherty, president of the Jefferson County Board of Education; Steven V. Groh, an assistant county prosecutor, and retired Charles Town Police Chief Louis Brunswick will be interviewed next week by the Jefferson County Commission in the county's quest to replace ousted Sheriff Bobby Shirley. Each will be interviewed Tuesday morning in the commissioners' meeting room below the Charles Town Library. The interviews will be open, but public comment won't be accepted, Commission President Dale Manuel said.

Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore is requesting funding in his 2014 budget for a day reporting center, a facility similar to one in Franklin County in Pennsylvania, which he says could push back the need to expand the county detention Center. Mullendore is requesting $2.5 million for the center, which would be in the former Phoenix Color building near the detention center. That figure includes more than $1.3 million for operation costs, most of which would be for a contractor to operate the program, he told the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday.

Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore and the chiefs of police from four Washington County municipalities testified Tuesday at a senate committee hearing in support of a bill that, if passed, would let a sheriff appoint municipal law enforcement officers as special sheriff's deputies. Mullendore said municipal boundaries in the county are fragmented and it is not possible for a municipal law enforcement officer to know what areas are exactly in their jurisdiction. Cases have been jeopardized in court because “the wrong unit” responded outside their municipal borders, said Sen. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, who has introduced the bill in the Senate.

The new headquarters for the law enforcement division of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office was expected to be completed this spring, but county officials now say it will take a little longer. Berkeley County Council member Douglas E. Copenhaver Jr. said the building should be ready by summer while giving a progress tour last week. “But the good thing is they know it's coming.” “They” includes 58 deputies, eight to 10 building staff, about 20 court security officers and 25 to 30 volunteer deputy reserve officers.

The process of finding a replacement for former Jefferson County Sheriff Bobby Shirley will be quick and open to the public, according to a unanimous vote by the county commission Thursday. The commissioners also voted to advertise for applicants in local newspapers next week for the $44,800-a-year job. The sheriff runs the department's law enforcement division and oversees the county's tax department. The latter responsibility also adds to the salary 15 percent of all delinquent taxes collected each year up to a total of $15,000.

While no formal vote was taken Thursday, the Jefferson County Commission dropped plans for a special election this year to replace former Sheriff Bobby Shirley, who was forced out of office after pleading guilty in a federal civil rights violation case. Commission President Dale Manuel estimated that it would cost about $200,000 to hold a primary in May followed by a general election in November. The commissioners appointed Jesse W. Jones, Shirley's chief deputy, to serve as interim manager following Shirley's resignation.

A woman has sued a Berkeley County sheriff's deputy, claiming she had to spend a night in jail after the officer had her arrested in January 2012 for a crime she did not commit. Sheriff's Deputy Morris Stewart did not return a message left Monday requesting comment about the lawsuit, which was filed Friday on behalf of Lisa L. Bennett of Martinsburg by Charles Town, W.Va., attorney Peter A. Pentony in Berkeley County Circuit Court. Berkeley County Council, which is responsible for funding the sheriff's office, also was named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office is investigating a number of mail thefts that were reported Thursday near the east end of Hagerstown. Deputy 1st Class Carly Hose, sheriff's office spokeswoman, said deputies were called at about 5 p.m. for reports of mail being stolen on Security Road, Jefferson Boulevard and numerous side streets in that area. She said deputies searched the area and continued to find discarded mail on the streets until 7 p.m. Deputies believe the person or people who took the mail discarded mail that wasn't of value and kept everything else, Hose said.