County sheriff resigns from office

CALHOUN COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Calhoun County Sheriff J. Warren Basnett resigned Friday after facing criticism from fellow county officials about alleged improprieties in office, according to Calhoun County Prosecuting Attorney Nigel Jeffries.

Jeffries says the resignation will take effect on April 30th.

Once the resignation takes effect, the Calhoun County Commission will have 30 days to name Basnett’s replacement.

Earlier this week, Jeffries told WSAZ that he met with county commissioners about the issue.

Among the allegations are that Basnett took part in a career day event at Calhoun Middle/High School where the Sheriff’s Office brought in guns. Children were pointing guns at each other and filming it for social media. Jeffries says one child in particular was aiming and pretending to shoot one of the guns in a very unsafe manner under Sheriff Basnett’s supervision.

Jeffries said he discussed other issues with commissioners, including the following:

• The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office currently has no certified deputies. Jeffries says they had three in 2021, and as of this past December they had all quit for various reasons.
• Sheriff Basnett posted an ad in a local newspaper about a “silent auction” where five used cruisers were available. In the ad, he told prospective bidders to show up with their offers. Jeffries said just one man showed up and paid $100 per cruiser -- getting all five for $500.
• Basnett allegedly violated civil service rules, including allegedly promoting a deputy to corporal without any of the required processes. No tests were performed to see if he was fit for the role and no others with similar experience were given a chance to even apply for the position, according to Jeffries.
• He said there was improper documentation of court orders being served. Jeffries says there have been instances where it was documented that someone had been served court papers - but they never were - and vice versa. Jeffries says there’s been at least one instance where a court proceeding had to be continued due to confusion over whether a suspect had been served or not.

Jeffries alleges the sheriff hasn’t properly provided court security. He says at one point, the Sheriff’s Department had an acting bailiff that had a significant limp due to a leg injury - meaning they would not properly be able to protect the public or carry out duties expected of bailiffs.

Earlier this week, WSAZ called the sheriff’s department to speak with Basnett, but no one answered.

Keep checking the WSAZ app for the latest.