Brown County Sheriff’s Officials are taking steps regarding allegations made against the Brown County Commissioners about the bid process to lease the Brown County Juvenile Justice Center.
Although allegations have been brought to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office regarding possible wrongdoing, there is no active investigation of the Brown County Commissioners’ Court, despite rumors that have been circulating, according to Brown County Sheriff Bobby Grubbs.
Sheriff Grubbs explained to BrownwoodNews Wednesday morning that there is not an official investigation underway but that serious accusations were made last week regarding the Brown Commissioners’ Court and the bid/lease process of the Brown County Juvenile Justice property, formerly known as the Ron Jackson Unit 2.
“Allegations have been made and right now, we don’t know what is right and what is wrong and are in the process of taking preliminary steps to determine if these allegations merit an investigation,” explained Grubbs Wednesday morning.
Grubbs stated that a commissioner expressed concerns about the bid process and asked for some clarification from the Sheriff’s Office. A citizen also brought some serious accusations against Brown County Judge Ray West and commissioners to BCSO which are being looked into, said Grubbs. He explained that when allegations arise in any incident, law enforcement must first determine if an investigation is necessary. The specific nature of the allegations was not disclosed.
He stated that BCSO is “taking the initial steps to see if there is enough to warrant an investigation by substantiating what is fact or rumor.”
BCSO Captain Tony Aaron stated that the term “investigation” is not used until a file is established and a case number assigned. At this point, these allegations have not been assigned a case number, according to Aaron and BCSO Chief Deputy Bobby Duvall.
“Sheriff Grubbs has asked us to take a careful approach to determine if an investigation is merited,” said Aaron. “We are in the preliminary steps now and are verifying if an investigation is necessary.”
Grubbs confirmed that if needed, an investigation will be started regarding the bid/lease process and other allegations against County Judge Ray West and the Commissioners’ Court in general.
“If it becomes necessary, we’ll ask an outside agency, an independent agency to take a look at it in the event it does turn into an investigation,” Grubbs said.
He explained operating procedures, stating that when a county has an internal investigation, typically the investigation is turned over to either the Texas Rangers or the Attorney General’s office depending on the alleged crimes committed.
The county approved a lease Monday to G4S Youth Services for the Brown County Juvenile Justice Property but did not release terms of that lease. The county received two bids to lease the property, one from G4S and one from another company, Rite of Passage. According to Brown County Judge Ray West during last week’s commissioners’ meeting, the Rite of Passage bid contained a contingency regarding the company being awarded a contract with a state entity, and commissioners said that they would reject it because of the contingency.
West could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
