POTOSI, Mo. — Prosecutors have filed more charges against embattled Iron County Sheriff Jeffrey Burkett, now accusing him and two deputies of stalking and harassing a local judge.
Burkett, two deputies and a wealthy resident were charged earlier this year with multiple felonies, including taking part in “criminal street gang†activity. Prosecutors accused the officers of going beyond their authority to get the wealthy resident weekend custody of his child.
The deputies put out alerts for other agencies to arrest the child’s mother, attempted to investigate her for multiple crimes, tracked her location, followed her across several counties and used law enforcement databases to intercede in the custody fight, prosecutors said.
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Then, late last month, Washington County Prosecutor John Jones filed a new criminal case charging Burkett and two deputies — Christopher Jayne and Chase Bresnahan — with felony judicial tampering and misdemeanor stalking.
The new charges accuse all three of photographing a judge’s home residence, vehicle and girlfriend over several days in February. Investigators with the Missouri Highway Patrol also found texts from Burkett instructing Jayne to take the photos and “not to be caught doing so,†court documents state. Burkett is accused of telling deputies not to cooperate with the highway patrol, charging documents say.
Charges say a witness overheard Burkett discussing a plan to have the judge arrested in retaliation for holding one of Burkett’s employees in contempt of court.
Burkett’s defense attorney, Gabe Crocker, has said his client is the victim of local political infighting. Crocker argued Wednesday that the sheriff was doing nothing more than leading an investigation into elected officials.
“He’s now being charged with crimes for conducting that investigation,†Crocker said. “It is, quite literally, that simple to explain these charges.â€
The name of the judge targeted was redacted from court documents and a call to Jones’ office was not immediately returned Wednesday. But Jones had previously hinted in earlier hearings that an Iron County judge was surveilled at Burkett’s direction.
Burkett remains the elected sheriff of Iron County but is on leave.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit this year seeking to remove him from office. A trial in that suit is set for late January.