BOISE -- The Idaho Attorney General's Office is bringing charges against former Jerome County Sheriff Doug McFall, who resigned from his position Wednesday amid the investigation.
McFall is facing felony charges of aiding and abetting grand theft and misuse of public money, as well as two misdemeanor charges of petit theft.
According to a complaint obtained by KTVB, the grand theft charge is related to a conversation McFall had with a man named Rick Grimes on Dec. 17, 2016, regarding a dispute over horses. Prosecutors say that the sheriff "advised and counseled Rick Grimes that if Grimes were to take horses from a third party without force that he would not arrest him for theft."
Grimes ultimately did take the horses from the Sugar Loaf Arena, according to the complaint, and McFall did not arrest him.
In the second count - misuse of public funds - the complaint alleges that McFall pocketed more than $300 of county money. Prosecutors say the sheriff used the Jerome County gas card and credit card to buy fuel and an overnight hotel stay on a personal trip; redeemed a Costco Reward Certificate belonging to Jerome County and kept the balance, and recycled county tin and vehicle parts, keeping the money he received for himself.
Both petit theft claims deal with allegations that McFall filed false per diem requests in March of 2017.
The former sheriff told KTVB on Friday he was not aware the investigation was complete and wasn't privy to the charges, but said they were a "misunderstanding" and untrue, and contended he had not used county funds for himself. McFall says he provided the Idaho Attorney General's office material to prove it; the money spent was all on equipment for the sheriff's office and for official trips related to his position, he said.
"I think it's very unfortunate, especially when it comes to the highest law enforcement person in the county," Jerome County Commissioner Cathy Roemer told KTVB on Friday.
Roemer, who's been a county commissioner for almost 10 years, says when Sheriff McFall announced he was planning to resign amid the attorney general's investigation, she suspected something was awry.
"I figured that there was some seriousness to the investigation," Roemer said. "Over the years I have questioned numerous times where the funds were going, what they were being spent on and I feel like it's up to us to hold people accountable to taxpayer funds."
She says, however, she couldn't get support from her fellow commissioners to question the sheriff and his office any further. When asked if there needs to be more scrutiny from the county leaders, Roemer said the scrutiny lies in the fact that commissioners go through all the claims every two weeks before paying them out.
As a single commissioner, she says she couldn't stop payment on any bill or deny payment without cooperation from at least one other commissioner.
"I wish I had the support because maybe things didn't have to go to this point," Roemer added. "I couldn't seem to get any back-up for even asking questions or getting further information.
Commissioner Roemer says she's not surprised by some of the details listed in the AG's complaint.
"Those are taxpayer dollars. They pay for us to do our job and do it with integrity and honesty," Roemer said.
So where does Jerome County go from here?
"Now we just move forward and make the best decision for the next county sheriff that we can, continue to scrutinize funds more and have those discussions about what gets paid and what doesn't - if there's any question," Roemer told KTVB.
She says the Central Committee will submit three candidates to the county commissioners soon and then commissioners will appoint their next law enforcement leader. In the meantime, we are told the Jerome County chief deputy sheriff is at the helm, as the county awaits answers.
"If the allegations are true it's a sad day for Jerome County," Roemer added. "Innocent until proven guilty. So we will wait and see what happens."
The Jerome County Clerk of Courts office says McFall's arraignment is scheduled at 3 p.m. March 8.