Trouble in Nassau
Moments after Felder Youman and witnesses said Sgt. William Wettstein attacked him at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, Wettstein took Youman into another room that was actually equipped with video and audio. Wettstein and Youman can been seen here in that second room.
The FBI is conducting investigations into allegations of civil rights abuses and corruption at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. No one has been charged. Key moments include:
April 17, 2009: Detective Brandon Smith said Sheriff Tommy Seagraves orders him to free a woman charged with drug possession after her husband, a Seagraves friend, takes responsibility. Smith later told the FBI he felt Seagraves obstructed his case. Seagraves doesn’t remember intervening, though the husband’s attorney praised him for doing so.
October/November: Smith becomes an FBI informant after recording another detective discussing steroid use.
January 2010: Kenneth Taylor said FBI agents visited him after his arrest for taking job-related kickbacks while working at the Sheriff’s Office. Taylor said the agents asked about finances involving Seagraves and the agency.
February: Smith said Seagraves halts a probe he ordered of Internet gaming shops after being told that a close friend and employee was affiliated with one shop. Seagraves and his attorney said they questioned the legality and potential liability of the case. Smith told the FBI he felt Seagraves obstructed the case to protect his friend Seagraves denies it.
April 20: Two beer keg taps disappear after a drug raid. The suspected thefts and the hunt for items missing from other raids, including marijuana grow lamps, became part of the FBI investigation.
April 20: Drug suspect Jessie Terrill says he was attacked while handcuffed during a drug raid. Terrill doesn’t complain and there is no immediate investigation. Smith and other detectives later tell the FBI the attacker is Detective William Wettstein.
Aug. 31: An internal investigation is launched after Seagraves is told that Capt. Johnnie Hall traded tires and rims off a seized truck to Detective Don Hyatt Jr. in exchange for tires and rims off his personal vehicle. Smith initiated the complaint.
September: Smith begins secretly recording Seagraves and others at the behest of the FBI.
Sept. 3: Undersheriff Michael Edwards resigns and later testifies before a federal grand jury investigating the sheriff’s office.
Sept. 9: An internal investigation finds neither Hyatt nor Hall acted criminally in the tires and rims case. The State Attorney’s Office and FBI maintain an interest.
Sept. 23: Seagraves cites political strife with the State Attorney’s Office among the reasons he won’t run for a third term.
November: Two FBI agents interview Seagraves.
Dec. 29: The Times-Union reports the FBI is conducting a corruption investigation of Seagraves and his agency.
Jan. 3, 2011: Smith said he secretly records Seagraves warning employees to tell him if the FBI questions them. Seagraves said he remembers telling those in the room to cooperate with any investigation.
Jan. 19: New Undersheriff Gordon Bass and other brass testify before a federal grand jury investigating their agency.
Feb. 14: The FBI collects 11 boxes of documents from Seagraves, including records on grant expenditures.
Feb. 17: Drug suspect Felder Youman said Wettstein attacks him. Smith tells the FBI, which begins a civil rights probe.
March 11: Hyatt quits while under internal investigation for the August tires and rims incident.
March 15: Seagraves gets help from St. Johns Sheriff David Shoar to investigate misconduct in the narcotics unit.
March 15: Seagraves suspends Wettstein with pay after Smith tells him about the Youman attack.
April 7: St. Johns ends its investigation after learning Smith is working for the FBI. St. Johns finds evidence of civil rights abuses, theft and altered police reports. St. Johns turns its file over to state prosecutors and the FBI.
Mid-April: Smith said Seagraves personally threatens to have him arrested for making secret recordings, but doesn’t.
April 15: Seagraves tells State Attorney Angela Corey that the FBI is aware of an allegation connecting Hall to possible insurance fraud.
April 21: Seagraves asks Corey what he should do with Wettstein in lieu of the FBI probe.
May 3: Seagraves suspends Hall 10 days for violating policy in the August tires and rims case.
May 19: Youman waives his right to file a civil rights suit against the sheriff’s office in exchange for being set free.
June 21: Seagraves reinstates Wettstein as the narcotics unit sergeant after he passes a fit-for-duty exam. He is warned to behave.
Aug. 24: Bass quits to take top security job at Jacksonville University.
Late summer/early fall: State and federal prosecutors meet in Jacksonville with Justice Department’s civil rights lawyers.
Sept. 26: Smith quits and blames Seagraves for bullying him over FBI work. Seagraves calls him a disgruntled liar.
Dec. 14: Local FBI head Jim Casey confirms his agents are conducting a civil rights investigation with Seagraves’ cooperation.
Compiled by Jim Schoettler, the Times-Union
Sources: Nassau and St. Johns County sheriff’s offices, State Attorney’s Office, FBI, various interviews
The FBI is conducting investigations into allegations of civil rights abuses and corruption at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. No one has been charged. Key moments include:
April 17, 2009: Detective Brandon Smith said Sheriff Tommy Seagraves orders him to free a woman charged with drug possession after her husband, a Seagraves friend, takes responsibility. Smith later told the FBI he felt Seagraves obstructed his case. Seagraves doesn’t remember intervening, though the husband’s attorney praised him for doing so.
October/November: Smith becomes an FBI informant after recording another detective discussing steroid use.
January 2010: Kenneth Taylor said FBI agents visited him after his arrest for taking job-related kickbacks while working at the Sheriff’s Office. Taylor said the agents asked about finances involving Seagraves and the agency.
February: Smith said Seagraves halts a probe he ordered of Internet gaming shops after being told that a close friend and employee was affiliated with one shop. Seagraves and his attorney said they questioned the legality and potential liability of the case. Smith told the FBI he felt Seagraves obstructed the case to protect his friend Seagraves denies it.
April 20: Two beer keg taps disappear after a drug raid. The suspected thefts and the hunt for items missing from other raids, including marijuana grow lamps, became part of the FBI investigation.
April 20: Drug suspect Jessie Terrill says he was attacked while handcuffed during a drug raid. Terrill doesn’t complain and there is no immediate investigation. Smith and other detectives later tell the FBI the attacker is Detective William Wettstein.
Aug. 31: An internal investigation is launched after Seagraves is told that Capt. Johnnie Hall traded tires and rims off a seized truck to Detective Don Hyatt Jr. in exchange for tires and rims off his personal vehicle. Smith initiated the complaint.
September: Smith begins secretly recording Seagraves and others at the behest of the FBI.
Sept. 3: Undersheriff Michael Edwards resigns and later testifies before a federal grand jury investigating the sheriff’s office.
Sept. 9: An internal investigation finds neither Hyatt nor Hall acted criminally in the tires and rims case. The State Attorney’s Office and FBI maintain an interest.
Sept. 23: Seagraves cites political strife with the State Attorney’s Office among the reasons he won’t run for a third term.
November: Two FBI agents interview Seagraves.
Dec. 29: The Times-Union reports the FBI is conducting a corruption investigation of Seagraves and his agency.
Jan. 3, 2011: Smith said he secretly records Seagraves warning employees to tell him if the FBI questions them. Seagraves said he remembers telling those in the room to cooperate with any investigation.
Jan. 19: New Undersheriff Gordon Bass and other brass testify before a federal grand jury investigating their agency.
Feb. 14: The FBI collects 11 boxes of documents from Seagraves, including records on grant expenditures.
Feb. 17: Drug suspect Felder Youman said Wettstein attacks him. Smith tells the FBI, which begins a civil rights probe.
March 11: Hyatt quits while under internal investigation for the August tires and rims incident.
March 15: Seagraves gets help from St. Johns Sheriff David Shoar to investigate misconduct in the narcotics unit.
March 15: Seagraves suspends Wettstein with pay after Smith tells him about the Youman attack.
April 7: St. Johns ends its investigation after learning Smith is working for the FBI. St. Johns finds evidence of civil rights abuses, theft and altered police reports. St. Johns turns its file over to state prosecutors and the FBI.
Mid-April: Smith said Seagraves personally threatens to have him arrested for making secret recordings, but doesn’t.
April 15: Seagraves tells State Attorney Angela Corey that the FBI is aware of an allegation connecting Hall to possible insurance fraud.
April 21: Seagraves asks Corey what he should do with Wettstein in lieu of the FBI probe.
May 3: Seagraves suspends Hall 10 days for violating policy in the August tires and rims case.
May 19: Youman waives his right to file a civil rights suit against the sheriff’s office in exchange for being set free.
June 21: Seagraves reinstates Wettstein as the narcotics unit sergeant after he passes a fit-for-duty exam. He is warned to behave.
Aug. 24: Bass quits to take top security job at Jacksonville University.
Late summer/early fall: State and federal prosecutors meet in Jacksonville with Justice Department’s civil rights lawyers.
Sept. 26: Smith quits and blames Seagraves for bullying him over FBI work. Seagraves calls him a disgruntled liar.
Dec. 14: Local FBI head Jim Casey confirms his agents are conducting a civil rights investigation with Seagraves’ cooperation.
Compiled by Jim Schoettler, the Times-Union
Sources: Nassau and St. Johns County sheriff’s offices, State Attorney’s Office, FBI, various interviews
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-12-17/story/fbi-investigates-reports-civil-rights-abuses-corruption-nassau-county#ixzz1gtrgPGuM
