Sheffield Man Charged with Witness Retaliation

An indictment was returned against Kim Starnes, age 41, of Sheffield Lake, Ohio, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.

Starnes is charged with willfully and knowingly making and causing to be made a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and representation in a matter within the jurisdiction of The Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is also charged with retaliating against a witness, Dettelbach said.

If convicted, the defendant's sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The indictment results from an investigation conducted by the Cleveland Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was presented for indictment by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew W. Shepherd.