The FBI is investigating a Texas sheriff’s office, a woman interviewed by agents says

DALLAS – The FBI is investigating a Texas sheriff who faced complaints of corruption from his personal deputies for years earlier than drawing broader scrutiny for his company’s reaction to a mass taking pictures, in keeping with a woman interviewed by federal agents.

The woman mentioned she’s two times met with a pair of FBI agents in fresh months after contacting them about what she feels used to be the sheriff’s botched investigation of her brother’s killing. Jenifer Jones informed The Associated Press the agents amassed information accusing San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers and his workforce of wide-ranging misconduct and informed her they have been in search of doable civil rights violations. During hourslong interviews, Jones mentioned they requested particular questions on circumstances and occasions well past her brother’s demise.

Federal investigators’ passion within the rural sheriff comes after an AP investigation discovered longstanding accusations that Capers has not noted deputies’ misconduct and left out fundamental police paintings whilst pursuing asset seizures that spice up his place of work’s $3.5 million price range however don’t all the time cling up in court docket.

It’s unclear how a long way alongside the FBI investigation is or when it could be concluded. Many federal investigations by no means lead to prison fees. An FBI spokesperson mentioned the company neither confirms nor denies investigations.

Capers did indirectly reply to calls in quest of remark, however his second-in-command mentioned they haven’t heard from agents and that their place of work is all the time open to outdoor scrutiny.

“I look forward to the visit, if they’ll show up here and ask the other half of the story,” Chief Deputy Tim Kean mentioned.

The probe follows years of complaints by the sheriff’s staff to state and federal legislation enforcement. Capers received prominence in May whilst main the dayslong seek for a guy who fatally shot five neighbors within the county, which is an hour’s pressure from Houston. But he additionally drew grievance for to start with offering misguided information about deputies’ reaction time and from some citizens who mentioned they felt neglected by and even fear the sheriff.

The time agents spent with Jones displays they have got “a great deal of interest in information she’s providing,” said Michelle Lee, a retired FBI agent in Texas. She noted that’s a strong indicator of an open investigation, but warned that such probes can go on under-the-radar for years.

Jones, 47, said she reached out to the FBI over the summer, hoping the scrutiny of Capers following the shooting would make it easier for her to draw attention to the sheriff’s investigation into her brother’s death.

Jones’ brother, John Wayne Dodge, was fatally shot in 2020 and sheriff’s deputies arrested his son for murder. But in 2022 prosecutors dropped the case “in the interest of justice,” court records show. Jones believes another man is responsible for her brother’s death and was never adequately investigated.

San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon said information about that man was also presented to a grand jury in 2020. Dillon said that he couldn’t comment on another agency’s investigation, but that after taking office last year he concluded there wasn’t “sufficient evidence or cause to proceed” with the case towards Dodge’s son.

In September, Jones mentioned she met with two FBI agents from Bryan, Texas. During the interview, she mentioned they indicated there will not be a lot they may do about Dodge’s case however requested for her lend a hand connecting them with individuals who could have been wronged by the sheriff.

Jones mentioned she additionally gave the agents a replica of a police guide’s file that compares the sheriff’s place of work to arranged crime. The county leaders who paid just about $50,000 for the file closing 12 months dismissed its advice to invite the Texas Rangers’ public corruption squad to analyze Capers.

Agents would believe it a “red flag” that officers not noted the belief of a file they paid for, Lee mentioned.

Jones equipped the names and respectable e mail addresses of the agents she met with. A legislation enforcement respectable showed agents with the ones names paintings for the FBI in Bryan. The particular person spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to speak to the media.

Jones mentioned she met with them once more in October, offering extra information and call information for different individuals who have been considering speaking in regards to the sheriff. She recalled one agent telling her they have been in search of circumstances wherein folks’s rights have been violated.

Jones mentioned she desires county citizens to grasp there is an out of doors authority they are able to flip to with lawsuits in regards to the sheriff.

“I feel like the victims of this county have nowhere else to go,” she mentioned.