April 6, 2015

Former Franklin County Deputy Sheriff Sentenced for Theft

FRANKFORT—A former deputy of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, who previously admitted to using evidence collected from an investigation to pay for personal expenses, has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison and two months of home incarceration.

U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove sentenced Matthew Christian Brown, 32, for theft of government property and ordered him to pay $17,840.54 in restitution. Of that amount, $9,900 will be paid to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Under federal law, Brown must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence; and following his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.

According to his plea agreement, Brown, who also served as the chief narcotics officer, executed a search warrant at a suspect’s residence, where he seized a watch and a ring. Instead of logging those items as evidence, Brown kept them for himself. He further admitted that he sold the ring back to the suspect.

Brown served as a deputy sheriff from May 2007 until December 2012.

Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Rodney C. Brewer, Kentucky State Police Commissioner; and Howard Marshall, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly made the announcement today.

The investigation was conducted by the Kentucky State Police and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hydee Hawkins prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.