Former sheriff indicted on 113 charges

Former Gibson County Sheriff Chuck Arnold and 11 others have been indicted on theft, official misconduct and other charges after an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Arnold, five other former employees and six current employees of the Gibson County Sheriff's Office were indicted when a grand jury met on Monday.

TBI spokeswoman Susan Niland said the investigation began after current Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas found items missing when he took office in 2014.

"This started out as a concern the current sheriff had when he came into office that there were some items missing," Niland said. "As a result of that, they found several discrepancies in areas such as employee compensation, monies from the drug fund, and the way that some prescriptions were being handled."

According to a news release from the TBI, Arnold has been charged with four counts of theft over $10,000, 55 counts of official misconduct, nine counts of theft over $1,000, one count of forgery, one count of theft of $500 or more, one count of attempted theft of $1,000 or more, two counts of attempted theft of $10,000 or more, one count of conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, and 39 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.

Arnold's attorney Mark Donahoe said they plan to plead not guilty to the charges.

"We intend to plead not guilty and intend to vigorously defend the case," Donahoe said Monday night.

Donahoe said he will begin work on the case Tuesday.

Sheriff Paul Thomas confirmed that after Arnold, 58, was booked into the Gibson County Correctional Complex, he was released on bail. His bail was set at $10,000, Thomas said.

During 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 compensation, drug fund accounting, and distribution of prescriptions made out in inmates' names, according to the news release.

Thomas said six of the individuals charged are currently employed by the Gibson County Sheriff's Office. Eddie Bradford, 41, Joel Hughey, 39, and Charles Simpson, 65, work in corrections. Melissa Hunt, 28, handles statistics reporting with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Thomas said. Shaun Phinnessee, 37, is a deputy, and Teresa Sturdivant, 45, is a commissary clerk.

Renea Terrell, 46, is a contract nurse practitioner with Gibson County Sheriff's Office.

"I'm going to meet with each of the current employees tonight before we go home, individually, one-on-one, and discuss their options," Thomas said Monday evening. "Each one, we'll sit down individually and come up with a plan for their future with the Gibson County Sheriff's Office."

Thomas said he could not comment on what those options might be.

According to the release, 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 Terrell, the contract nurse practitioner, were involved in writing and filling prescriptions for controlled substances in the names of inmates who never received the medication, according to the release. The investigation further revealed that Arnold removed money from the drug fund for his personal use, and forged documents using another individual's name, according to the release.

In 2014, Thomas requested an audit to check for any discrepancies in the office.

"Honestly, the audit I asked for was more for my protection. I just wanted to make sure when I took office what I was responsible for," he said. "As they were trying to identify my starting point with the last stopping point from the previous administration, they started noticing the discrepancies."

Thomas said the indictments were beyond what he had expected from the TBI and Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury's investigations.

"It's mind boggling. It's a little disheartening," Thomas said.

Thomas said all those charged in the investigation were expected to post bail.

Arnold's bail was set at $10,000. Maitland's bail was set at $5,000. Bail in the remaining 10 cases was set at $2,500.

The following is a summary of those charged in the investigation of the Gibson County Sheriff's Office:

Former Sheriff Chuck Arnold, 56, has been charged with four counts of theft over $10,000, 55 counts of official misconduct, nine counts of theft over $1,000, one count of forgery, one count of theft of $500 or more, one count of attempted theft of $1,000 or more, two counts of attempted theft of $10,000 or more, one count of conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, and 39 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. His bail was set at $10,000.

Jeff Maitland, 48, is charged with one count of attempted theft of $10,000 or more, 42 of counts official misconduct, one count conspiracy to obtain controlled substances by fraud, 39 counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, one count of theft of $1,000 or more, and two counts of theft of $10,000 or more. His bail was set at $5,000.

Eddie Bradford, 41, is charged with one count of theft of $1,000 or more, and one count of official misconduct. His bail was set at $2,500.

Darla Crenshaw, 48, is charged with one count of attempted theft of $1,000 or more, two counts of official misconduct, and one count of Theft of $1,000 or more. Her bail was set at $2,500.

Joel Hughey, 39, is charged with one count of theft of $1,000 or more, and one count of official misconduct. His bail was set at $2,500.

Melissa Hunt, 28, is charged with one count of theft of $1,000 or more, and one count of official misconduct. Her bail was set at $2,500.

Benjamin Lee, 49, is charged with one count of theft of $1,000 or more, and one count of official misconduct. His bail was set at $2,500.

Shaun Phinnessee, 37, is charged with one count of theft of $1,000 or more, and one count of official misconduct. His bail was set at $2,500.

Robert Pinkerton, 36, is charged with one count of theft of $10,000 or more, and one count of official misconduct. His bail was set at $2,500.

Charles Simpson, 65, is charged with one count of theft of $10,000 or more, and one count of official misconduct. His bail was set at $2,500.

Teresa Sturdivant, 45, is charged with one count of theft of $1,000 or more, and one count of official misconduct. Her bail was set at $2,500.

Renea Terrell, 46, is charged with one count of conspiracy to obtain controlled substance by fraud, 39 counts of obtaining controlled substance by fraud, 39 counts of official misconduct, and two counts of theft $1,000 or more. Her bail was set at $2,500.