Pubdate: Fri, 14 Aug 2009
Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX)
Copyright: 2009 The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Contact:  http://www.lubbockonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/841
Author: Joshua Hull
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States)

SUSPENDED SHERIFF DENIES WRONGDOING

Suspended Hockley County Sheriff David Kinney said he was caught 
off-guard after a civil case to have him permanently removed from 
office was filed Thursday and denied any wrongdoing.

A Lubbock judge temporarily removed Kinney from office without pay 
after Hockley County Attorney Christopher Dennis filed a lawsuit against him.

The suit accuses Kinney of incompetence due to the arrest of two of 
his deputies on charges of drug trafficking and other abuses of power.

I totally deny any of these charges," Kinney told The 
Avalanche-Journal in a phone interview this morning. "They're not 
really charges, they're allegations."

Kinney has served as sheriff since January 2005, and was re-elected 
in November for a second four-year term. He has been employed by the 
department in some capacity for more than 20 years, according to court filings.

A restraining order filed with the suspension restricted Kinney from 
accessing property or talking with anyone that could be involved in the case.

Kinney is in the process of hiring an attorney, he said, so he can 
challenge the order at an Aug. 24 hearing to determine whether or not 
the injunction is necessary.

Hopefully I can get these things straightened out by then," he said. 
"I thought we had a free country here but they've locked me down to 
where I can't talk to anybody."

Transcripts of phone conversations gathered in the federal 
investigation of former Hockley County deputies Gordon Bohannon and 
Jose Quintanilla, both accused of participating in a major meth ring, 
were used to gather evidence for the civil case with cooperation from 
the U.S. Attorney's office, Dennis said.

Kinney said those tapes, which court documents say detail his 
involvement in the illegal arrest of a federal informant, provide no 
basis for the petition filed against him.

I didn't do anything," he said. "I hope they play every one of those tapes."

Kevin Davis, a Hockley County district attorney investigator, has 
been named temporary sheriff until the litigation concludes. Until 
then, Kinney said he will be looking for a job.

I was not concerned because I didn't have anything to do with any of 
this stuff," he said of the investigation.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom