JACKSON – A joint investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and investigators with the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury has resulted in the indictment and arrest of the former Gibson County Sheriff and several of his former employees on charges including theft and official misconduct.

At the request of 28th District Attorney General Pro Tem Rachel Sobrero, on January 28th, TBI Special Agents joined investigators with the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury to investigate a report that when current Sheriff Paul Thomas took office in September 2014, items were missing from the Sheriff’s Department. During the course of the investigation, an audit was performed and the results showed several discrepancies between the dates of July 2013 through September 2014, in the areas of employee pay compensation, drug fund accounting, and distribution of prescriptions made out in inmates’ names.

Through the investigation, TBI Agents learned that former Sheriff Chuck Arnold and former Chief Deputy Jeff Maitland allowed employees to be paid for regular and/or overtime hours they didn’t work. Special Agents also developed information that Arnold, Maitland and Renea Terrell, a nurse practitioner who contracted with the Sheriff’s Department, were involved in writing and filling prescriptions for controlled substances in the names of inmates who never received the medication. The investigation further revealed that Arnold removed money from the drug fund for his personal use, and forged documents using another individual’s name.

On Monday, the Gibson County Grand Jury returned indictments charging 12 individuals on a variety of charges. This evening, those individuals were arrested, and at the time of this release, were being booked into the Gibson County Correctional Complex.

The list of those charged is as follows:

• Chuck Arnold, 58, Dyer, TN – Four counts Theft over $10,000, 55 counts Official Misconduct, nine counts Theft over $1,000, one count Forgery, one count Theft of $500 or more, one count Attempted Theft of $1,000 or more, two counts Attempted Theft of $10,000 or more, one count Conspiracy to Obtain Controlled Substance by Fraud, 39 counts Obtaining Controlled Substance by Fraud. Bond set at $10,000.

• Jeff Maitland, 48, Trenton, TN – One count Attempted Theft of $10,000 or more, 42 counts Official Misconduct, one count Conspiracy to Obtain Controlled Substances by Fraud, 39 counts Obtaining Controlled Substances by Fraud, one count Theft of $1,000 or more, two counts Theft of $10,000 or more. Bond set at $5,000.

• Eddie Bradford, 41, Trenton, TN – One count Theft of $1,000 or more, one count Official Misconduct. Bond set at $2,500.

• Darla Crenshaw, 48, Dyer, TN – One count Attempted Theft of $1,000 or more, two counts Official Misconduct, one count Theft of $1,000 or more. Bond set at $2,500.

• Joel Hughey, 39, Kenton, TN – One count of Theft of $1,000 or more, one count Official Misconduct. Bond set at $2,500.

• Melissa Hunt, 28, Atwood, TN – One count Theft of $1,000 or more, one count Official Misconduct. Bond set at $2,500.

• Benjamin Lee, 49, Trenton, TN – One count Theft of $10,000 or more, one count Official Misconduct. Bond set at $2,500.

• Shaun Phinnessee, 37, Milan, TN – One count Theft of $1,000 or more, one count Official Misconduct. Bond set at $2,500.

• Robert Pinkerton, 36, Humboldt, TN– Two counts Theft of $10,000 or more, two counts Official Misconduct. Bond set at $2,500.

• Charles Simpson, 65, Kenton, TN – One count Theft of $10,000 or more, one count Official Misconduct. Bond set at $2,500.

• Teresa Sturdivant, 45, Milan, TN – One count Theft of $1,000 or more, one count Official Misconduct. Bond set at $2,500.

• Renea Terrell, 46, Union City, TN – One count Conspiracy to Obtain Controlled Substance by Fraud, 39 counts Obtaining Controlled Substance by Fraud, 39 counts Official Misconduct, two counts Theft $1,000 or more. Bond set at $2,500.

Chuck Arnold  Chuck Arnold Jeff Maitland Jeff MaitlandEddie Bradford Eddie BradfordDarla Crenshaw Darla CrenshawJoel Hughey Joel HugheyMelissa Hunt Melissa HuntBenjamin Lee Benjamin LeeShaun Phinnessee Shaun PhinnesseeRobert Pinkerton Robert PinkertonCharles Simpson Charles SimpsonTeresa Sturdivant Teresa SturdivantRenea Terrell Renea Terrell

 

Published by Susan Niland