On Monday, Rick Rahim became the third former auxiliary sheriff’s deputy to plead guilty to bribing Jenkins.

The indictment against Rahim and Jenkins alleges Rahim paid Jenkins $25,000. He handed Jenkins the cash in manila envelopes, prosecutors say. They claim Rahim also paid for a campaign billboard, 200 custom knives and a $17,500 loan “towards a new home Jenkins was building.” Prosecutors say Rahim never asked to be paid back “because he wanted to maintain a good relationship with Jenkins.”

Rahim denied wrongdoing to the News4 I-Team on his way to the federal courthouse in Charlottesville Monday morning.

“I didn’t do anything,” he said.

Just minutes later, Rahim told the federal judge he did.

Prosecutors laid out the plot. Rahim was convicted of four financial felonies in the 1990s. Felons can’t own guns, so Rahim lost his right to own one. Federal prosecutors say and court documents reveal Rahim met then-Sheriff Jenkins in 2019 and a plan started to get Rahim his right to own a gun restored.

In exchange for the cash payments, Jenkins would allegedly use his official position to both help Rahim get his rights restored and become an auxiliary deputy, which further enhanced his rights.

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Rahim is the third former auxiliary deputy to plead guilty in the case. It helps complete the picture of how then-Sheriff Jenkins allegedly worked the bribery scheme to collect cash and checks. Court documents say only some of that money made it to Jenkins’ campaign account. The rest allegedly went to Jenkins’ personal accounts. In exchange, Jenkins gave all three of the men auxiliary deputy badges, allowing them to legally carry a gun.

Rahim also was assigned to a security detail for President Joe Biden during a visit to the Culpeper area in 2022.

Jenkins has pleaded not guilty. His attorney did not respond to an email Monday asking how Rahim’s plea affects the case against Jenkins.

Court documents and previous testimony make clear the feds have hours of recordings of the alleged bribes in this case. All of those tapes and now testimony from three former deputies who have pleaded guilty could be part of former Sheriff Jenkins’ trial. It is now scheduled for late July.

The White House executive visit to Germanna Community College on Feb. 10, 2022, was a chance for President Joe Biden to pitch a prescription drug price relief plan.

The 20-page “law enforcement sensitive” plan obtained by the I-Team shows many Culpeper Sheriff’s Office deputies were assigned to guard entrances and exits and key points at Culpeper Regional Airport where Marine One, the presidential helicopter, landed. Deep into the plan, auxiliary Deputy Rick Rahim is listed as a rover to provide relief to other deputies at the airport.

The I-Team has reported on Rahim before. Court records show he was sworn in as an auxiliary deputy in May 2021. Rahim is a felon with convictions for conspiracy to commit grand larceny and obtaining money under false pretenses in the 1990s.

Former Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who appointed Rahim, did not answer questions about his appointment or background check when the I-Team first reported it. In recent weeks Jenkins’ attorney did not respond to questions about how Rahim ended up on the presidential assignment.

According to the plan, there were more than a dozen deputies working that day. Rahim was one of at least three auxiliary deputies the I-Team on the schedule that day, but the Culpeper Sheriff’s Office had dozens of auxiliary deputies on a roster.

Jenkins is scheduled for a federal trial in July, accused of allegedly accepting bribes to make at least three people, including Rahim, an auxiliary deputy. Rahim is charged for allegedly paying the bribe. Both pleaded not guilty.

Court records show Rahim is expected to change his plea next week. The I-Team reached out to Rahim’s attorney about the plea hearing and the presidential visit but did not hear back.

When asked about the presidential security assignment, former Secret Service Special Agent Matt Doherty told the I-Team it was “jaw dropping that this would happen in a U.S. police department, that a convicted felon would be authorized not only to carry a gun and badge but charged with the protection of the citizenry and to support the Secret Service in their protective machinery.”

Doherty, who is now a workplace risk assessment expert for the consulting firm Sikich, told the I-Team the Secret Service relies on local law enforcement agencies to assist with every high-level visit. He said the agency has no choice but to trust local agencies.

“We assume that those individuals have been vetted,” Doherty said.

“The Secret Service protective model ensures the highest level of security for our protectees,” the Secret Service told the I-Team in a statement. “There were no security considerations or issues that impacted the President’s movements during the 2022 visit to Culpeper, Virginia.”

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Doherty echoed the statement, assuring the I-Team the president was not in danger that day, but called Rahim’s inclusion in the plan “a horrible dereliction of duty, not only for the president, but the day-to-day interaction with the citizenry.” 

 The Secret Service statement continued, “As it relates to vetting partner law enforcement agencies that assist the Secret Service, there are rigorous legal and background requirements to obtain law enforcement certification in every state. Each local jurisdiction is responsible for ensuring the efficacy of that process. In this instance, there may be questions as to whether that process was followed.”  

 The Secret Service wouldn’t comment more specifically, citing the pending federal case against the former sheriff.

The new sheriff suspended the auxiliary deputy program when he started in January.

Reported by Ted Oberg, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Steve Jones.

Sheriff Tim Chilton has lived and worked in the community for more than two decades as a police officer.

“I didn’t have to meet a lot of folks. I knew them when the campaign started,” he said.

But there’s a lot he said he didn’t know about when it comes to what was going on inside the sheriff’s office he now runs.

“You describe inheriting not exactly the operation you hoped it would be,” said Investigative Reporter Ted Oberg recently when the newly elected sheriff sat down with the News4 I-Team.

“No, not at all,” said Chilton.

He said he kept 95% of former Sheriff Scott Jenkins’ staff and deputies and pointed out they’re ready and doing a great job. Among those he didn’t rehire: Six members of the former sheriff’s family who worked for the department.

As for the auxiliary deputy program that got the former sheriff in trouble, Chilton suspended it. He’s not even certain who had an auxiliary deputy badge, he said.

“The weird thing is there’s, like, three or four different lists of auxiliaries,” Chilton said.

Asked if he knew how many auxiliary deputies had Culpeper badges, the sheriff said, “Other than what I saw on your show? Nope. I had no idea, and neither did half the people here.”

Chilton said he’s had people from all around the country call him saying they had county badges and credentials. He doesn’t know if they had county-owned weapons.

That includes the three auxiliaries indicted last year for allegedly paying bribes to former Sheriff Jenkins to get badges.

Asked if there is any evidence that the sheriff’s office had asked for the guns and property back from those under indictment before Chilton took over, he said, ”I don’t think so. I don’t think anybody did. We’ve got three or four folks that are, that are chasing down addresses, chasing down information. Hopefully we can find any more.”

One of the indicted auxiliary deputies, Frederic Gumbinner, took a guilty plea in November. Another, James Metcalf, also pleaded guilty, according to court documents made public Wednesday. A third indicted auxiliary deputy pleaded not guilty.

As did Jenkins, who Chilton said just days ago surprised him with a visit to the office.

“There was a big amount of guns that he brought back,” he said. “He had 55 guns is what he turned in the other night.”

Chilton said they might have been used by the former sheriff for training. The guns were a mix of handguns and rifles, according to Chilton, some which can immediately be used by deputies who didn’t have a rifle.

The I-Team asked Jenkins’ current criminal attorney about the guns but has not received an answer.

Chilton also showed the I-Team another gun in the department’s armory.

“It’s a fully automatic .223 and it is probably a $7,000 weapon,” he said. “This is the one that was in Texas that you guys reported on.”

The I-Team first saw that particular gun in Dallas police body camera video after a Culpeper auxiliary deputy got into a car accident there in Oct. 2022. At the time, the I-Team thought it was a semiautomatic rifle. Chilton confirmed the gun was a full auto machine gun that was eventually shipped back to Virginia from Texas. The I-Team still doesn’t have an answer as to why a Culpeper County-owned gun was in an old tennis bag in the back seat of a Texas pickup truck. Jenkin’s attorney did not respond to the I-Team’s questions.

Chilton said he’s found at least six fully automatic guns and plans to trade them in for weapons the department can actually use.

“We’re going to trade them in and get something worthy of being used for law enforcement purposes,” he said. “This isn’t necessarily one of those things.”

He also asked Virginia State Police to audit every piece of evidence the department currently has in the evidence room.

When it comes to other surprises, Chilton explained he’s spent his first several days untangling the budget and financial records, which he described as being “in disarray,” including credit card bills the new sheriff didn’t know about and couldn’t understand.

“We found some of those receipts where they were $120, $220 buffets on county taxpayer money,” Chilton said. “I don’t think that’s right.”

He said that won’t continue.

The new sheriff said he’s eager to turn the page and do what he was elected to do.

“Are you ready to talk about fighting crime?” asked Oberg.

“Yeah,” Chilton said. “I still have a lot of gas in the tank for going out here and doing it myself, but right now I’m doing nothing but finding things to fix.”

Reported by Ted Oberg, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Jeff Piper.

A second man pleaded guilty in the case involving the former Culpeper County sheriff and three people accused of bribing him to become auxiliary deputies.

James Metcalf, a Northern Virginia businessman, admitted to paying then Sheriff Scott Jenkins a $5,000 bribe in August 2022, according to court documents made public Wednesday afternoon.

In Metcalf’s case, it was a check for the sheriff’s reelection campaign.

Metcalf is the second auxiliary deputy to plead guilty in the case, following businessman Fredric Gumbinner in November.

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Jenkins, who lost reelection in November, pleaded not guilty. His trial is set for May in Charlottesville.

Metcalf’s attorney did not return calls late Wednesday afternoon.

Metcalf agreed to cooperate against remaining defendants, including former Sheriff Jenkins.

Four years ago, Virginia businessman Fredric Gumbinner paid thousands of dollars to become a Culpeper County auxiliary sheriff’s deputy.

According to an assistant U.S. attorney in court and the indictment against him, Gumbinner gave $20,000 to Rick Rahim, another auxiliary deputy, on Oct. 1, 2019, with intent to influence and reward Sheriff Scott Jenkins.

Gumbinner’s attorney admitted the sheriff got at least some of that money as a quid pro quo bribe to make Gumbinner an auxiliary deputy.

According to the indictment, Jenkins never reported a campaign contribution from Gumbinner. The I-Team confirmed that after reviewing campaign filings for the sheriff.

In court Monday, Gumbinner responded to the judge in one- or two-word answers, including pleading “guilty” to the bribery charge.

Gumbinner’s is just one of the bribes Jenkins is accused of accepting. As part of his plea deal, other counts against Gumbinner were dropped. He could face years in prison and won’t be back in court for sentencing until July.

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Gumbinner didn’t talk to the News4 I-Team as he walked in and out of court Monday.

Jenkins, who just lost his reelection bid this month, is scheduled to go on trial in May. According to Gumbinner’s plea agreement, he is obligated to testify.

Both Jenkins and Rahim have pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys had no comment about Monday’s development.

Reported by Ted Oberg, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Jeff Piper.

Tim Chilton, an assistant chief for the city of Culpeper, is projected to be the next sheriff in the county. He won every part of the county and has two months to get ready to take over

Sheriff Scott Jenkins was indicted earlier this year on charges that he took bribes and gave auxiliary badges to people who allegedly paid for them. He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial in May.

The federal government seized almost all of his campaign funds in January.

In two public debates, the indictment wasn’t really raised as an issue.

Chilton said the issues in the indictment may not be the last concerns about what’s going on inside the sheriff’s office. He plans audits of the budget, guns the office purchased and an overhaul of an auxiliary deputy program.

Culpeper County Jul 27, 2023

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Jenkins has worked for the sheriff’s office for 33 years and is well known for his service and at times outspoken support of gun rights.

Jenkins and his attorney did not respond to several emails from News4 about the election.

Joe Watson, a retired Alexandria police officer who also worked in the Culpeper County Sheriff’s office, was the third candidate.

In a video posted online Sunday, Jenkins defended his son and had some harsh words for the I-Team.

It stems from a Sept. 13, incident when a box of ammunition was found in a bathroom ceiling at Culpeper County High School. Thankfully, nothing else happened, but the law enforcement response was huge.

That day, some residents in Culpeper were confused why the sheriff’s 17-year-old son was taken out of class while every other student was under a stay-in-place order. The son, who News4 is not naming due to his age, donned a sheriff’s vest and participated in the law enforcement response. 

At the time, Sheriff Jenkins didn’t comment to the I-Team.  Over the weekend he spoke to the group Culpeper County 2A, which posted a clip on Facebook.

Jenkins defended the teen’s service and sheriff’s vest, saying, “He had an identifier on.  The fact that it was a vest, you (would have) thought it was a machine gun the way this idiot reporter from channel four made it sound. And then all the local media and others jump on the bandwagon.”

Jenkins’ son is a part-time employee of his dad’s sheriff’s office. Payroll records obtained by the I-Team list him as a records clerk.

At the time of the incident, he was a 17-year-old senior at the school, which is too young to be sworn law enforcement anywhere in Virginia.

“We’re not New York City; we don’t have 40,000 officers,” Jenkins said in the video. “So, common sense. You have runners and gofers to do lots of things, and on the day of the incident at the high school, that’s all that young man did. He wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

In the seven-minute video, the sheriff expressed concern his son would be part of news coverage, but then elaborated, saying he was part of the law enforcement response to a barricaded suspect incident a week earlier. The sheriff also said his son is now 18 years old and will graduate in December and become a deputy sheriff.

The Facebook post for Culpeper County 2A says the video published Sunday aims to “cut through the drama,” saying this is just the first of many videos. One other has been published since. In it, Jenkins explained his reasoning behind a proposal to deputize thousands of deputies nationwide to, in his mind, protect their gun rights.

The group said it “recently had a sit-down with Sherriff Jenkins, looked him in the eye and asked the questions we felt needed answered.” On its Facebook page, Culpeper County 2A describes itself as “a group of concerned Culpeper County citizens and their friends dedicated to protecting their inherent and inalienable rights to self-defense and to keep and bear arms as memorialized in and guaranteed by pertinent provisions of the Constitution of Virginia and Bill of Rights.”

The News4 I Team requested another interview with the sheriff after the video was released but has not heard from him.

Jenkins is currently facing federal bribery and conspiracy charges. He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial next year.

Reported by Ted Oberg, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Steve Jones.

Jenkins pleaded not guilty to federal bribery and conspiracy charges. Among other allegations, federal prosecutors claim Jenkins took bribes from people who then became auxiliary deputies.

The News4 I-Team learned Friday the sheriff’s new defense lawyer set up a GoFundMe account for Jenkins’ legal bills. The page claims “the Biden Justice Department indicted Sheriff Jenkins … on outrageous allegations” and asks for donations to mount “a legal defense against the full weight of the federal government.”

The page makes clear donors are not entitled to input into Jenkins’ legal defense.

When the I-Team checked Friday, the largest donor so far was Donald Trump-pardoned, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, who gave $500 and told followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Jenkins took a stand and now the DOJ has placed him in their crosshairs.”

Flynn posted a link to a Breitbart video in which Jenkins answers questions about his promise to deputize thousands of civilians nationwide if Congress passed gun confiscation laws.

Culpeper County Jul 27, 2023

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At last check, the GoFundMe is well shy of its $650,000 goal.

Citing the ongoing case, the Justice Department had no comment on the fund.

Neither Jenkin’s lawyer nor Flynn’s representatives has replied to the I-Team.

One 17-year-old senior, who happens to be the son of Culpeper Sheriff Scott Jenkins, did not.

Two law enforcement sources close to the incident and a high school parent confirm to the News4 I-Team the 17-year-old boy left the school during the three-and-a-half-hour stay-in-place order, grabbed a sheriff’s office tactical vest from his truck and joined the sheriff’s office response inside and outside the school.

It’s unclear who directed him to do so or why.

Virginia law says any law enforcement officer, including sheriff’s deputies, must be 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent. If the boy was in school Wednesday morning, it’s unlikely he has that.

Culpeper sheriff’s personnel records obtained by the I-Team earlier this year show the son is employed by his dad’s department.

The same documents show he started last summer and earns $19,000 per year — all while still in school. The sheriff’s office would only confirm Wednesday that two employees share the same first and last name of the sheriff’s son.

A spokesperson for the Culpeper Sheriff’s Office told the I-Team, “We had numerous support staff on scene and all were in some type of CCSO attire so they could be identified as they assisted during the incident.”

Culpeper County Jul 27, 2023

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Virginia Jul 3, 2023

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The I-Team’s further questions about why the sheriff’s son was there were not addressed.

As for the incident itself, it was wrapped up by 2:05 p.m. after law enforcement swept the building.

In a statement, a school spokesperson told the I-Team, “One of our staff was performing his daily restroom checks and noticed a dislodged ceiling tile, which prompted a look into the ceiling where he found a box of ammunition. This discovery led to the threat response. School officials worked with law enforcement to ensure safety. The law enforcement response included a K-9 sweep of the entire building, which required the continuation of the ‘stay in place order’ to safely complete the event. No other dangerous objects were found.”

The school district sent a text to parents Wednesday night saying, “Out of an abundance of caution there will be an increased law enforcement presence on the campus of Culpeper High School tomorrow.”

Reported by Ted Oberg, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Jeff Piper.

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That may not be terribly out of the ordinary in Texas, but when the News4 I-Team found out Guandolo was driving in Dallas with a pricey assault rifle owned by the people of Culpeper County, it led to questions the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office and indicted Sheriff Scott Jenkins still can’t or won’t answer.

The I-Team reported on Guandolo before. He is one of the dozens of people sworn in as an auxiliary deputy in Culpeper. For years he also ran Understanding the Threat, a Dallas-based group that trained law enforcement personnel around the country. The Southern Poverty Law Center designated his organization a hate group and his training “Islamophobic.”

When asked earlier this year about Guandolo getting an auxiliary deputy badge, the SPLC’s Caleb Keiffer told the I-Team, “I really hope that these associations would be maybe thought through a little more and maybe reconsidered.”

When told Guandolo had a Virginia-owned gun in Dallas, Will Pelfrey, a criminologist at Virginia Commonwealth University, called it “an egregious example of bad judgement (and) bad decision making.”

It is just the latest controversy surrounding Jenkins. He is currently facing the potential of years in prison after being accused of accepting campaign donations and personal bribes to give donors auxiliary deputy badges. The sheriff and three auxiliary deputies also named in the indictment all pleaded not guilty. Guandolo is not mentioned in the indictment.

The I-Team asked Jenkins why Guandolo had the gun but didn’t get a response.

Neither did the I-Team hear from the sheriff’s office, the county or Guandolo himself.

Trying to figure out how many guns were issued to the volunteer auxiliaries, the I-Team used Virginia’s FOIA to demand documents showing gun distributions to auxiliary deputies. While the sheriff’s office did turn over documents detailing the issuance of some gear, including a T-shirt, a baseball hat and some holsters, the office did not turn over any records of auxiliary deputies who received guns. County policy says auxiliaries get the same gear full-time officers do.

Virginia Jul 3, 2023

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Culpeper County Jun 29, 2023

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Virginia May 4, 2023

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It leaves open the question of how many other county-owned guns are out there in Culpeper, Dallas or anywhere else.  There may not be any, but without records, that remains unclear.

“Any law enforcement agency should carefully record and track any equipment they issue, particularly those involved in lethal force, Pelfrey said.

When asked for records of the purchase or issuance of the gun found in Dallas, the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office said, “Those records could not be found or do not exist.”

The gun, a semiautomatic FN Scar 5.56, retails for more than $3,000.

“This is not just a single gun,” Pelfrey told the I-Team. “This is a very dangerous gun. The assault rifles issued to public safety officials are very serious weapons. They’re designed to be used in tactical situations.”

Dallas authorities did not file any charges related to the gun. Despite Guandolo’s emailed hope “they may release the weapons to me,” emails show they shipped it back to Culpeper. It is not clear where the weapon is now.

Reported by Ted Oberg, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Steve Jones.

The Justice Department unsealed the indictment against Jenkins on Thursday. Three other men also stand charged.

Jenkins, 51, is accused of accepting cash bribes and bribes in the form of campaign contributions of at least $72,500 from at least eight people, including two undercover FBI agents, since April 2019.

“In return, Jenkins appointed each of the bribe payors as auxiliary deputy sheriffs, a sworn law-enforcement position, and issued them Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office badges and identification cards,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

“Jenkins told or caused others to tell the bribe payors that those law-enforcement credentials authorized them to carry concealed firearms in all 50 states without obtaining a permit,” the statement continued.

Jenkins was charged with one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest-services mail and wire fraud, and eight counts of federal programs bribery.

Virginia May 4, 2023

Court Docs Reveal Federal Wiretap for Phone Linked to Culpeper County Sheriff

Culpeper County May 3, 2023

Court Docs Reveal Federal Wiretap for Phone Linked to Culpeper County Sheriff

Culpeper County Apr 11, 2023

FBI Seizes Culpeper Sheriff Campaign Cash

Three Virginia men also charged

Prosecutors named three men who they say paid bribes to Jenkins: Fredric Gumbinner, 64, of Fairfax; James Metcalf, 60, of Manassas; and Rick Tariq Rahim, 55, of Great Falls.

Prosecutors say Jenkins helped Rahim gain approval for a petition to restore his firearms rights. The petition was filed in Culpeper County and falsely stated that Rahim lived there, they say.

The News4 I-Team previously reported that Rahim lost his right to own a gun because of a felony conviction.

Rahim was charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of honest-services mail and wire fraud, and three counts of federal programs bribery.

Gumbinner and Metcalf each were charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of honest-services wire fraud, and two counts of federal programs bribery.

According to the NBC affiliate in Charlottesville, Rahim, Gumbinner and Metcalf pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance Thursday. Jenkins didn’t enter a plea because his attorney wasn’t present. The four men are out on bond.

If convicted, Jenkins and the three others could potentially face decades in prison, with maximum penalties of 20 years on each honest-services mail and wire fraud count, 10 years on each federal programs bribery count and five years on the conspiracy count.

The News4 I-Team reached out to Jenkins’ attorney, the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office and the county attorney but hasn’t heard back yet. News4 also left messages at numbers for the other men involved but hasn’t received responses.

Dozens of volunteers deputized

As the News4 I-Team previously reported, the FBI seized $10,000 from Jenkins’ campaign account in January, amid signs of a larger investigation. Sources with knowledge of the investigation said a number of Culpeper County employees had been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury.

Jenkins and his D.C. lawyer previously declined to comment about the campaign cash seizure or subpoenas.

In May, newly uncovered court documents revealed a federal wiretap of a phone linked to Jenkins. The federal intercept of calls concluded in mid-January.

In searches of court records, the I-Team found 46 auxiliary deputies appointed by Jenkins and sworn in by a circuit court judge. That’s more than double the number of auxiliary deputies authorized by a Culpeper County ordinance “not to exceed fifteen (15) percent of the paid force.”

According to the sheriff’s own general order, auxiliary deputies are supposed to be trained. According to the results of a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services only has training records for three of the 46 auxiliaries.

A Culpeper sheriff’s general order explains auxiliary deputies will get the same equipment as full-time deputies. The sheriff’s office told the I-Team it could only find records of five auxiliary deputies getting any equipment at all. There are no records of any firearms issued to auxiliary deputies, despite the general order stating the equipment is the same whether deputies are full time or auxiliary.

The general order is clear that each auxiliary deputy is to work 16 hours a month. The sheriff’s office could not provide a single time sheet proving any of the auxiliary deputies had worked even a single hour. Go here for the full story.

Jenkins oversees a staff of 70 and an $8 million budget.

Culpeper is about 70 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.

Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.

The federal intercept of calls concluded in mid-January 2023, two weeks before court documents confirm the feds seized $10,000 from Jenkins’ campaign accounts. The I-Team does not know if the two are connected.

Sheriff Jenkins did not return an email from News4 asking about the development. His D.C. attorney declined comment.

At least three sources in and around Culpeper are aware of several people who received the document notifying them their calls were caught in the surveillance.

It’s unclear if Jenkins knew about it at the time.

Photos obtained by the I-Team show a carefree Jenkins smiling as he sat on Santa’s lap, celebrated with the Grinch and recognized volunteers during the time the phone was tapped in December.

Months later, documents related to the seizure and wiretap remain sealed at federal court.

At the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, elected and appointed leaders wouldn’t say anything to the I-Team about the investigation or Jenkins — or if it was becoming so much of a distraction that the Sheriff should step aside, even temporarily.

County Administrator John Egertson walked away from the I-Team and through a back door as we attempted to ask him about the “ongoing investigation.”

Gary Deal, the Chair of the County Board of Supervisors, insisted he had to get to a meeting and refused to answer questions on his way into the building before the meeting started.

Jenkins, the county’s top cop, remains on the job and in charge of a staff of 70 along with his $8 million budget.

You can read the I-Team’s previous report about the Sheriff and his Auxiliary Deputy program here.

The News4 I-Team learned the FBI seized $10,000 from the campaign account of Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins in January. According to campaign filings at the time, it was nearly the entire balance.

The FBI won’t comment, but the seizure was posted in a federal notice April 5.

It came just two weeks after sources with knowledge of the investigation told the I-Team a number of Culpeper County employees have been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury. It is unclear if the seizure and grand jury investigation are related.

The FBI is not commenting on either the seizure or the subpoenas, and despite numerous requests to both Jenkins and his D.C. lawyer, neither are they.

Jenkins is no stranger to controversy.

In late 2019, as the Virginia General Assembly was considering changes to the commonwealth’s gun laws, Jenkins said several times he would deputize thousands of so-called auxiliary deputies.

Auxiliaries are volunteers who typically work a few hours a month to help support law enforcement.

Jenkins’ plan, however, was to deputize the volunteers, allowing them to maintain the gun rights the General Assembly may have curtailed.

Those gun law changes did not pass in Richmond that session, and Jenkins’ plan to deputize “thousands” of auxiliaries didn’t come to pass, but today there are dozens of them in a department with roughly 130 full-time deputies.

Dozens of Volunteers Deputized

In searches of court records, the I-Team found 46 auxiliary deputies appointed by Jenkins and sworn in by a circuit court judge. That is more than double the number of auxiliary deputies authorized by a Culpeper County ordinance “not to exceed fifteen (15) percent of the paid force.”

The number of deputies is far from the only question the I-Team has about the program.

According to the sheriff’s own general order, auxiliary deputies are supposed to be trained. According to the results of a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services only has training records for three of the 46 auxiliaries.

It is unclear if that is a violation of state law or rules, but it would be a violation of the sheriff’s own general order, which lists specific training to auxiliary or reserve deputies.

Professor Adam Dobrin, an expert on volunteer policing, told the I-Team, “They (auxiliary deputies) should be only doing what they’re qualified to do.”

Dobrin, who teaches courses in law enforcement at Florida Atlantic University, is a reserve officer himself in Florida.

“The public should have a certainty that this is someone who has had the training commensurate with their authority and responsibility,” he said.

A Culpeper sheriff’s general order explains auxiliary deputies will get the same equipment as full-time deputies. The sheriff’s office told the I-Team it could only find records of five auxiliary deputies getting any equipment at all. There are no records of any firearms issued to auxiliary deputies, despite the general order stating the equipment is the same whether deputies are full time or auxiliary.

The general order is clear that each auxiliary deputy is to work 16 hours a month. The sheriff’s office could not provide a single time sheet proving any of the auxiliary deputies had worked even a single hour.

‘Proper Screening Must Be Done’

A Culpeper County ordinance states auxiliaries should be of “good character.” The sheriff’s general order states auxiliaries will go through the same hiring process as full-time deputies, which involves an “extensive background check,” including searches for convictions of both felonies and “crimes of moral turpitude.”

Jenkins didn’t shy away from the background check requirement. In 2019, he told county supervisors at a public meeting, “Proper screening must be done.”

Given that, it is unclear how Rick Rahim, a Fairfax County business owner, passed his.

Rahim currently runs a financial advice service, but in 1992, he pleaded guilty to three felony counts of obtaining property under false pretenses in Fairfax County and was sentenced to serve six months.

In 1997, Federal Trade Commission documents posted online show the agency settled with Rahim over allegations he made deceptive claims about his credit repair company.

In 2009, Rahim pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of illegal assembly after Fairfax police busted an allegedly illegal poker game at his home.

Court records show Rahim agreed to forfeit $328,000.

The I-Team’s questions to Jenkins about Rahim’s history went unanswered. Rahim referred the I-Team back to the sheriff, told the I-Team to stay off his property, and wrote in a text message, “My hands are tied. I’m very sorry. Cannot talk. Yet.”

In 2020, court records obtained by the I-Team show Rahim, who’s long called Fairfax County home, went to Culpeper County to file a petition to get his right to own a gun restored, which he lost in that earlier felony conviction.

According to a court transcript the commonwealth’s attorney inquired about where Rahim lived. Residency, the commonwealth’s attorney explained, is one of the requirements for gun right restoration. According to the transcript, Rahim swore under oath he lived in Culpeper. In the same transcript, his “dwelling place” is listed as the very same street as the sheriff’s brother – the same street where the sheriff’s office holds its annual Halloween charity event.

​Even more curious are court documents from a pending lawsuit filed when Rahim allegedly stopped paying for two Lamborghinis. A U.S. Marshals Service form showing addresses where those cars might be located for seizure includes one house the I-Team found is owned by the sheriff himself. Rahim and the sheriff did not answer questions about that.

‘It’s Greatly Concerning’

A second Culpeper County auxiliary deputy, John Guandolo, caught the I-Team’s attention as well. Caleb Kieffer of the Southern Poverty Law Center calls Guandolo’s participation in the auxiliary program “greatly concerning.”

Guandolo was once an FBI agent. He’s now a law enforcement trainer who lives in Dallas and touts being a Culpeper auxiliary deputy on his company biography.

The SPLC tracked Guandolo and his “Understanding the Threat” training program for years, saying it uses anti-Muslim rhetoric and conspiracy theories.

“We view him as one of the leading anti-Muslim figures in this country,” Kieffer said. “We designate his organization as a hate group.”

He went on to say the auxiliary badge helps “legitimize” Guandolo and his work.

Neither Guandolo nor Jenkins answered any of the I-Team’s questions about his service. 

Calls to several county supervisors about the I-Team’s questions didn’t yield any answers either.

Dobrin, the volunteer policing expert, summed up his concerns reminding the I-Team the only people the sheriff really answers to are the people of Culpeper.

“The sheriff is second in command,” Dobrin said. “The voting public is the top of that chart. And so, in an elected official like a sheriff, the answer is that they answer to the public.”

In 2017, the I-Team investigated allegations of bullying and high turnover inside the sheriff’s office. Jenkins wouldn’t give an interview but said the complaints were from disgruntled ex-employees and politically motivated.

In 2019, the I-Team examined questions about whether an annual Halloween event used to raise money for a charity inside the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office violated federal tax rules by helping support the sheriff’s reelection campaign. The director of the charity said nothing was inappropriate.

Reported by Ted Oberg, produced by Rick Yarborough, shot by Jeff Piper and Steve Jones, and edited by Steve Jones.

A teenage girl was given Narcan, a drug used to reverse overdoses, and CPR by school officials, then taken to a hospital. She was conscious when first responders arrived, officials said.

Sheriff’s office units responded to Eastern View High School about 9:30 a.m. K-9 teams searched the school, officials said.

Jerry Montiel-Sanchez, 18, is accused of giving counterfeit Percocet pills containing fentanyl to at least two students, the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office said. Percocet is a brand name for a painkiller containing the opioid oxycodone.

Montiel-Sanchez is charged with distribution of a schedule I or II controlled substance. He was being held without bond at the Culpeper County Jail.

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Two female students, aged 16 and 17, were also charged with distribution. They were released into their parents’ custody, officials said.

The sheriff’s office says it expects to make more arrests. Anyone with information is asked to contact the authorities at 540-727-7520.

Law Enforcement Warning of Teen Overdoses in D.C. Area

Law enforcement agencies around the Washington, D.C., region have warned of pills containing fentanyl, a powerful opioid 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, the National Institutes of Health says.

Five students in Montgomery County died from overdoses in January 2023, Councilmember Will Jawando said. All schools in the county carry Narcan, and it’s been used 11 times to revive students this school year.

Prince William County authorities said they’ve taken thousands of pills off the street after three teens overdosed. Prince George’s County police suspected fentanyl overdoses in the deaths of children in October, November and December 2022.

According to police and the Drug Enforcement Agency, real oxycodone pills are often blue and stamped with the letter M. Fake versions of the pills often look similar to real ones, but can contain deadly contaminants.