Former Nelson County sheriff sentenced for role in recording incident of ex-rival
Nearly a year after leaving office, former Nelson County Sheriff David Brooks was convicted in a Lynchburg courtroom Monday of two misdemeanors stemming from an illegal recording of an ex-political rival in the fall 2013.
Brooks, 54, who retired at the end of last year after serving as Nelson’s sheriff from 2008 to 2015, entered Alford pleas Monday in Lynchburg Circuit Court to one count each of unlawful dissemination of images of another and malfeasance. An Alford plea means Brooks maintains his innocence but admits prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction.
The charges stem from an October 2013 incident involving Malcolm “Mac” Bridgwater, a former deputy in Nelson and Amherst counties who unsuccessfully ran against Brooks in 2007 and 2011 for sheriff, according to indictments from a multi-jurisdictional grand jury filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court.
Judge F. Patrick Yeatts sentenced Brooks to two years in jail with all time suspended and ordered 50 hours of community service. As part of the plea agreement, Brooks will allow his certification to lapse and cannot apply for a law enforcement position for a five-year period.
Read more: http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/former-nelson-sheriff-sentenced-for-role-in-recording-incident-of/article_d3d6c898-b57e-11e6-856c-6f4c371d432e.html
[font color=330099]It sure seems like a sweetheart deal considering the crime that was committed.[/font]
