DOJ opens criminal investigation in Deschutes sheriff’s race

The race for Deschutes County Sheriff just got hotter, with the election still five months away.

The Oregon Department of Justice and the Secretary of State’s office has launched an investigation into the race between Sheriff Shane Nelson and challenger Eric Kozowski, a deputy with the agency, and looking into whether there’s been a violation of any state campaign laws.

The DOJ is not saying which campaign is being investigated or whether the sheriff’s office is accused of breaking any laws.

Nelson said he notified the DOJ, seeking an investigation, after an employee told him via email on May 20 about alleged rumors regarding restrictions on political campaigning.

“The employee allegedly heard rumors circulating about restrictions about political campaigning by public employees,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation on May 23. He said his office is asking investigators to see if state laws regarding officials misconduct and undue political influence were violated.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the Department of Justice is the lead agency handling the criminal investigation.

“I take these allegations very seriously and respect the absolute right of all citizens to run for public office,” Nelson said.

The DOJ released a statement saying, “As of now, we have received the information from the sheriff, and we are reviewing the materials. We can’t provide any additional comment at this time.”

Sheriff’s deputy and candidate Eric Kozowski said Friday these problems are not new inside the agency, and said that’s why he’s running for office.

“I really can’t comment on the allegations or (sheriff’s) press release at this point, because of the investigation,” Kozowski said.

The investigation comes as two current employees have filed complaints against Nelson’s office, according to the sheriff. Again, few details have been released.

“If he’s truly cleaning house, why is it taken so long?” Kozowski said. “(It) didn’t seem like he made any substantial changes or addressed any issues until he faced a challenger for his position.”

NewsChannel 21 asked Nelson if he believed Kozowski started this rumor.

“I’m not going to share any more information at this time, I just want this investigation to take place and deliver an outcome,” Nelson said.

Here’s the full statement released Thursday afternoon by Sheriff L. Shane Nelson

In my commitment to continue to be as transparent as possible, I am releasing the following information. Please understand that I cannot release specific details about these investigations as I do not want to jeopardize their outcome. At this time, these are just allegations and will be thoroughly investigated.

1) On Friday, May 20 , 2016, I received information from an employee regarding alleged rumors circulating about restrictions on political campaigning by public employees. I contacted the Oregon Department of Justice as soon as possible and they accepted the request for an internal investigation relating to 2013 ORS 162.415 (Official misconduct in the first degree) and 2013 ORS 260.665 (Undue influence to affect registration, voting, candidacy, signing petition).

I take these allegations very seriously and respect the absolute right of all citizens to run for public office.

The Department of Justice is working with the Secretary of State on how to proceed with this investigation.

2) On June 3 , 2016, our office was notified by ATF that they wanted to conduct an inquiry into an employee regarding potential violations of whether he needed to obtain a federal firearms license to build a firearm for a co-worker while off duty. We were informed that they received an anonymous complaint, as well as, a named complaint approximately 2 months ago. On June 8 , 2016, ATF came to our office and completed the inquiry on Lt. Robert Trono and advised our office that this was “not a prosecutable violation”. ATF will not be opening a case on this and will not be looking into this incident any further. Our office will review this through an administrative investigation. Lt. Trono is not on administrative leave given ATF’s conclusion.

3) Two employee-generated complaints have been filed against me (Sheriff L. Shane Nelson) within the last two weeks. The complaints were made by employees who were prior supervisors. These investigations are being handled by outside agencies and our office will fully cooperate with the investigators.

I stand behind my actions as your Sheriff over the last 11 months. I have made a lot of change within our organization and as my actions have shown, if and when there is an issue, I will take care of business. I will do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons.