Polk County Sheriff Kelly McLendon said Kenneth Gravett, 42, posted bond the same day as his arrest. He was booked and released by the U.S. Marshall Service after a FBI investigation led to a warrant, he said.
McLendon said a law enforcement official arrested here would never spend time in the Polk County facility but would be sent elsewhere if he or she were incarcerated.
Gravett, a 17-year veteran with the sheriff’s office, faces federal charges of wire fraud and mail fraud. The charges stem from questions raised by an insurance company over a vehicle claim.
Gravett was not charged with insurance fraud, McLendon said.
McLendon said he called for the FBI to investigate the matter when the issue came up. Gravett’s case will be in the U.S. District Court in Rome.
“The federal system is going to do what they do,” McLendon said, adding that no local authority will have any involvement.
Meanwhile, McLendon is handling the fallout within his department. He said he called a staff meeting when the arrest occurred Monday.
“I’d rather them hear it from me that on the street,” he said.
Gravett was a road deputy who worked on the newly created warrant team. McLendon said he would not be filling that position anytime soon.
This deputy was taken through the Federal system, and the process is clearly outlined in Federal law.
Anonymous also says "We will probably never know the outcome of this". I disagree. We will know the outcome of this case. We learned the outcomes when the former Chief of the Polk County Police was arrested, and a former Polk County Police officer was arrested, both on charges of theft of guns from the county police department evidence storage room. We followed the investigation, the arrests, and the court proceedings, and the sentences.
Most law enforcement officers follow the law, and want those who break the law to be held accountable.