Sheriff took over $70,000 in bribes to make people deputies in Virginia, feds say
A sheriff in Virginia gave badges to people accused of paying him thousands of dollars in bribes, making them auxiliary deputies without making sure they were properly trained, federal prosecutors said.
Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Howard Jenkins is accused of encouraging the bribes and letting the accused bribe payers know they could carry a concealed firearm in any U.S. state after being sworn in as an auxiliary deputy, according to court documents and prosecutors.
He took more than $70,000 in cash payments and campaign contributions from at least six people, as well as from two FBI agents working undercover, since at least 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia announced in a June 29 news release.
Jenkins, 51, and three others — Rick Tariq Rahim, 55, of Great Falls, Fredric Gumbinner, 64, of Fairfax, James Metcalf, 60, of Manassas — are charged with a conspiracy to exchange bribes for law enforcement badges and credentials and other related charges, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News contacted the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office for comment on June 29 and didn’t receive an immediate response. Information regarding legal representation for Jenkins, Rahim, Gumbinner and Metcalf wasn’t listed in court records.
“Scott Jenkins not only violated federal law but also violated the faith and trust placed in him by the citizens of Culpeper County by accepting cash bribes in exchange for auxiliary deputy badges and other benefits,” U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said in a statement.
Jenkins has served as the county’s sheriff since 2012.
More on the case
A 38-page indictment filed in federal court on June 28 outlines the conspiracy in which Jenkins, Rahim, Gumbinner and Metcalf are accused of taking part in.
According to the filing, Jenkins passed off many cash bribes he accepted as payments for firearms and created fake documents in support of the fraud.
He allowed Rahim, Gumbinner, Metcalf and others who weren’t identified or charged in the indictment to receive Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office badges and identification cards upon appointing them as auxiliary deputies, prosecutors said.
In regards to Rahim and his deputy appointment, Jenkins also helped him restore his firearm rights in Culpeper County even though he didn’t live in the county, according to prosecutors.
When Metcalf wanted to obtain a sheriff’s office badge, he first expressed his interest in doing so to a person identified only as “individual 1” in the indictment.
Jenkins had an agreement with this individual, who is accused of helping recruit others to offer bribes to Jenkins in exchange for becoming auxiliary deputies, the indictment says.
On Sept. 11, 2019, Metcalf texted “individual 1,” saying “I am ready to pop a little cash on somebody and get a badge brother will talk about that at lunch,” according to the indictment.
In August 2022, Metcalf agreed to contribute $5,000 toward Jenkins’ reelection campaign and was later sworn in as an auxiliary deputy in September 2022, the indictment says.
The charges against Jenkins and his co-defendants come after The Roanoke Times reported on April 12 that the FBI had recently seized $10,000 from Jenkins’ campaign account as he is set to run for reelection as sheriff in November.
Culpeper County is about 70 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published June 29, 2023 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Sheriff took over $70,000 in bribes to make people deputies in Virginia, feds say."
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