A man who spent 14 years working as an evidence clerk at the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is out of a job after a coin went missing.
A letter to attorneys who have all plead cases inside the Stafford County Courthouse were notified via a letter from Commonwealth Attorney Eric Olsen on Wednesday of an internal investigation that led the employee’s firing.
The former employee William Byrne is now being investigated by Virginia State Police who are probing the case for any criminal wrongdoing on Byrne’s part. Stafford County Sheriff Charles Jett requested state police investigate the incident, according to a press release.
No charges have been filed against Byrne.
He was twice awarded the civilian integrity award during the Stafford Sheriff’s office annual awards in 2012 and 2007.
An investigation into the incident found the missing coin was scheduled to be delivered to the state treasury. The coin was replaced with a coin of no value, and Byrne made false statements to investigators after the fake coin was found, according to a press release.
The sheriff’s department is conducting an audit of all evidence in the department’s locker.
“The audit has thus far shown no other improprieties with any active case from 2014 and 2015,” the press release stated.
