SPENCER - A former Roane County sheriff was sentenced Tuesday to home confinement for stealing methamphetamine from a police locker, despite a prosecutor's request for prison time.
Matthew "Bo" Williams had faced between one and 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge of entering without breaking for the drug theft while he was a police officer with the city of Spencer. He previously admitted to having a year-and-a-half-long addiction to meth.
"I made a bad decision and it took me down a road I never intended to travel," Williams said Tuesday, before he was sentenced.
Williams stood beside his lawyer, James Cagle, of Charleston, during Tuesday's sentencing hearing. Williams has received drug treatment since being charged with the theft.
Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Pat Lefebure was appointed to serve as special prosecutor in the case against Williams. Lefebure was appointed after Roane Prosecuting Attorney Josh Downey stepped down from the case. Downey and Williams are related by marriage.
Lefebure told Roane Circuit Judge Richard Craig Tatterson on Tuesday that the former sheriff "has brought shame to local law enforcement." The prosecutor asked that Williams' sentence include a term of incarceration.
"He has disgraced the badge that he was sworn to uphold," Lefebure told the judge.
Before handing down the sentence, Tatterson reminded Williams that his actions had led to at least two felony drug cases being thrown out. Plus, investigations are ongoing into other cases that could have a different outcome because of Williams' actions, the judge said.
Tatterson allowed comments from two of Williams' friends and his aunt before imposing the sentence. The judge said he would allow the former lawman 48 hours to make arrangements with officials who oversee home confinement.
Woody Wilson, who attends church with Williams, believes the former sheriff will use the situation to help others struggling with addiction.
"I can't see any good coming from him sitting in a cell," said Wilson, who also used to be Williams principal in elementary school. "He now has the tools to be able to do that."
"He already had the tools," said Roane Sheriff's Deputy C.L. Ruppert. "He was in a position to help people and he let them down."
Ruppert and Williams worked together as officers in Spencer before Ruppert became a deputy and Williams was elected sheriff. Ruppert didn't want to say what he thought about the sentence given to Williams on Tuesday. He and other deputies have worried about the reputation of the Roane Sheriff's Office since Williams' actions came to light.
"Everyone in this office feels let down," Ruppert said after Tuesday's sentencing. "Some people will think if there's one bad apple, everyone is like that."
Williams was elected sheriff Nov. 8 and placed on leave from the Spencer department Nov. 25. He took office as sheriff in January and resigned less than a month later as part of a plea agreement with the prosecutor. That agreement dropped a charge of grand larceny against Williams, which alleged the former sheriff stole more than $1,000 in evidence, including meth, from the Spencer Police Department.
As a convicted felon, Williams can no longer carry a gun and, therefore, can't be a police officer, Downey previously told the Gazette-Mail.
Roane County Commissioners selected a permanent replacement for Williams last month. Todd Cole, who had been serving as interim sheriff since Williams' resignation, served as sheriff in Roane from 2001-08. He also served as sheriff last year to finish the unexpired term of Mike Harper. Cole will serve until an election in 2018.
Cole wasn't available for comment Tuesday. Ruppert said that Cole had talked with deputies about the incident involving Williams.
"He talked about how this causes a black eye on the office," Ruppert said.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.