A federal judge sent Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold to jail amid allegations that he violated the terms of his pre-trial release.
The Sheriff had little reaction as U.S. Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern announced she would be revoking his bond surrounding allegations of domestic assault, witness coercion and witness tampering.
Sheriff Arnold has just arrived in court - he'll learn shortly whether his bond is being revoked @NC5 pic.twitter.com/ZLdFH2T5Xz
— Chris Conte (@NC5_ChrisConte) September 28, 2016
After hearing lengthy testimony on Tuesday surrounding allegations that Sheriff Arnold beat his wife and then used his own deputies to help cover up the incident, the judge said she had no other option but to place him back into federal custody.
Sheriff Arnold was lead away from court in handcuffs by U.S. Marshals.
"No condition of release will ensure that he (Sheriff Arnold) doesn't pose a danger to the community ... He has shown a willingness to use his public office for personal privilege," the judge added.
The judge also seemed to hint that she may reconsider jail time if the sheriff were to step down, "My conclusion might be different if he were to resign his office," she said.
Bond for Sheriff Robert Arnold has been revoked. He will now spend the next four months in jail until his trial in February #BREAKING @NC5
— Chris Conte (@NC5_ChrisConte) September 28, 2016
Arnold has not been charged with any crime, nor has his wife filed a police report.
Rutherford Co. Sheriff Robert Arnold just handcuffed by US Marshals -judge found probable cause he coerced witness/lied to authorities @NC5
— Chris Conte (@NC5_ChrisConte) September 28, 2016
During a hearing Tuesday, the U.S. attorney presented evidence of an alleged domestic assault involving the sheriff and his wife - evidence which seemed to seal his fate with the judge.
Arnold had little reaction as he sat in court and was forced to listen to his wife’s candid, at times graphic phone conversations with the man she admitted to having an affair with, former Eagleville Police Chief Elijah Stuard.
“Do you not realize how not normal my life is living with him? Do you have any idea what it’s like living with him for all these years,” Mrs. Arnold could be heard saying on the phone calls that she didn’t know were being recorded.
“He (Sheriff Arnold) told me not to make a statement, I want to make a statement but I’m f—scared … I’m f—scared for me and the kids,” she added.
In the phone calls, former Chief Stuard could at time be heard calling Mrs. Arnold “Baby.”
The Sheriff's wife Megan was not present for either hearing.
Prosecutors say that on September 5th, 2016 Arnold came home from a pool party and was intoxicated. In a written statement that she refused to sign, but said was truthful, Mrs. Arnold told TBI agents that Arnold then took an Ambien in an effort to get to sleep. Attorneys told the court that Mrs. Arnold said the Sheriff became angry with her after she stopped having sex with him and that’s when the situation escalated.
In phone calls played for the court, Mrs. Arnold said that she twisted the Sheriff’s nipple in an effort to get him away from her.
“He (Sheriff Arnold) said ‘that f—hurt’ and shoved me down ... he punched me in the arm,” she went on to say, “What scared me is when he got me on the bed and had his body weight on me. ‘I’ll put all my body weight on you until you stop breathing,’” Mrs. Arnold recalled the Sheriff saying.
“Robert said ‘what happens in these walls, stays in these walls,” Mrs. Arnold was heard saying on one phone call from early in September.
As part of his release for federal corruption charges, Sheriff Arnold agreed that he would remain law abiding and not commit a Federal, State, or local crime while on release.
Prosecutors also argued that Sheriff Arnold coerced his wife into not testifying in court on Tuesday, instead she only agreed to sign a prepared affidavit stating that she “did not feel scared.”
In phone calls played for the court, Mrs. Arnold could be heard saying, “I’m hiding from me being the one that puts him in jail.”
Federal attorneys spent the better part of four hours trying to convince the judge that Sheriff Arnold, who was first elected in 2010, has continued to abuse his position of power to manipulate others.
“TBI agents regularly hear from Sheriff’s Office employees who are concerned about retaliation for speaking out,” the federal prosecutor said.
In an attempt to keep Sheriff Arnold from going back to jail, Arnold’s defense attorney called his mother-in-law to testify about her daughter’s marriage which she described as “stormy.”
“I get tired of the fighting. They argue all the time,” the Sheriff’s mother-in-law said, adding that she never had a reason to fear for her daughter’s safety.
The move seemed to pit family member against family member, airing out details that seemed to expose deep divides in the Arnold family, all in Federal Court.
Although prosecutors had no physical evidence of abuse to present in court, their argument for the sheriff to be detained gained more traction when Arnold's parole officer announced that he did not believe Arnold should remain out on bond.
“We do not believe there are conditions that he won’t violate conditions of his release,” the probation officer said.
The ruling Wednesday meant Arnold will likely remain behind bars in federal custody until he stands trial on corruption charges in February. He – along with his uncle, John Vanderveer, and Joe Russell, an accounting chief at the sheriff’s office – have been facing a 14-count federal indictment in his JailCigs case.
Federal authorities said Sheriff Arnold was being held in a jail in Kentucky.
In his absence, those with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office said Chief Deputy Randy Garrett and their staff will serve. Chief Garrett has been set to oversee the sheriff's office. For more on future plans in Rutherford County, click here.
