MIDLAND, Texas — Abuse of official capacity, among other allegations, are named in an open Texas Rangers investigation into the Midland County Sheriff’s Office.
This comes after months of requests for interviews, open records requests and more questions than answers; NewsWest 9 has obtained official documentation of an investigation. That information comes directly from the Texas Rangers.
NewsWest 9 has spent several months searching for information about an investigation. While all of the records are not available to the public, the documents can at least answer some questions about what the Texas Rangers are looking into.
They are highly redacted documents but do offer a few key pieces of information.
The investigation was launched by the Crockett County District Attorney last year. Texas Rangers took the investigation on at the end of October 2019.
Here are the allegations they’re looking into:
- Unlawful interception of oral or electronic communications, reported October 3, 2019.
- Abuse of official capacity, reported August 17, 2017.
- Tampering with a governmental record, reported February 26, 2019.
- Theft, greater than $30,000 and less than $250,000, reported October 29, 2019.
It’s important to remember this is an ongoing investigation. So far, there are no indictments and no wrong-doing has been found. No specific names have been attached to this investigation; the report NewsWest 9 obtained only states law enforcement personnel employed by the Midland County Sheriff’s Office. There is no word when the investigation will be complete.
NewsWest 9 has reached out to a lot of people, including the Midland DPS Office, Midland County Sheriff, Midland County Judge, the Midland County District Attorney, Midland County District Clerk, the Crockett County District Attorney and District Clerk, and all Justice of the Peace precincts in Midland County.
Sheriff Gillette confirmed the investigation over the phone Monday morning, saying the sheriff’s office is cooperating fully with the Texas Rangers. He could not say more than that.
MORE FROM THIS REPORTER: