Brown County Commissioners voted Monday, at the regular meeting of the court, to reimburse Precinct 3 Commissioner Wayne Shaw for legal expenses incurred for his defense during criminal proceedings on charges of felony theft, for which he was found not guilty on February 11, 2015.
Shaw was indicted on 3rd Degree Felony Theft by a Brown County Grand Jury in July of 2014. The indictment stated that Shaw, on or about April 30, 2014, appropriated by acquiring or otherwise exercising control over, county owned gravel valued at more than $1500 and less than $20,000 without the effective consent of the owner and with intent to deprive the owner of the property.
Visiting Judge Jim Rex of Andrews, Texas presided over the trial which began on Tuesday afternoon, February 10th. Heath Hemphill of Coleman County served as the special prosecutor. Shaw was represented by criminal defense attorney Terry W. Yates of Bellaire, Texas.
The case was based on an incident where Shaw had given permission to nearby landowners to take gravel that had been used for repair work on County Roads 351, 352 and 310 in Precinct 3. The defense maintained that the gravel was of a minimal amount and was basically of no value having been contaminated and not able to be used for paving, and that the landowners hauling off the gravel actually saved the county the cost of removal. The state presented a case representing that the gravel was a measureable amount that had value and that Shaw had given away county property improperly.County Attorney Shane Britton explained that in civil cases, the county is obligated to provide legal defense for its employees; however, with criminal cases, it is not the county’s duty to provide legal defense but at the commissioners’ discretion, that they have an option, to provide reimbursement if the county employee or public official has been found not guilty. A guilty verdict would prohibit reimbursement as it would not be good use of government funds, according to Britton.
“There are court cases and Attorney Generals’ opinions that talk about defending a county employee or a public official. The county’s interest is in protecting their employee because that sets a dangerous precedence, when you have a county employee who is charged with a criminal offense for which they are found not guilty. We have an obligation to defend our employees, that becomes a county interest when one of our own is charged with something that they are found not guilty of.” Shane Britton.
The total of the invoices for Shaw’s defense was $57,047.52.
“That is a lot of money. I will move that we find that the expenditure was for a county purpose and not for Commissioner Shaw’s personal interest, and that the prosecution of the case was for actions that he took which were within the scope of his official duties,” said County Judge Ray West. “I will also move that the county reimburse Commissioner Shaw $57,046.52.”
County Auditor Nina Cox asked West where the funds for the reimbursement will come. West explained, “The amount will have to come out of the general fund, but you know, it is just not fair to him, this is just a duty this county has. It was a groundless case, that is just the cost of frivolous cases like this being filed.”
Precinct 2 Commissioner Joel Kelton stated his opinion regarding the matter of the reimbursement.
“Who would want this job, knowing that something like this could happen,” asked Kelton. “If it were me I would ask the same. It (being responsible for hefty legal fees) would be a financial crush.”
In other matters of the court:
*County Surveyor Don King received authorization to file one lot subdivisions.
*Brown County Sheriff’s Captain Vance Hill received approval for a change in court house security, by changing one of the part time positions to full time. This position needed to be increased to full time due to the amount of high risk cases on the court dockets throughout the court house, which caused an increased need for a bailiff in the court, according to Hill. The additional cost of the increased position is $22,856, not counting benefits, said Hill. The deputy being considered for the position at this time will not need insurance, because he has state retirement benefits; however, future deputies in this position could require the benefits package from the county, according to Hill. Funds of $20,000 were not spent from the courthouse security fund in last year’s budget, along with $2,000 left in the BCSO salaries fund and $10,000 in the BCSO operations fund, explained Hill.
*Brown Count Sheriff’s Office received approval for employee changes including a commissary clerk and a jailer.
*Assistant Elections Administrator Larry Franks received approval of precincts for the November 3, 2015 Special Election, a constitutional amendment election.
