In a Facebook Live stream on Wednesday, Nov. 21, St. Johns County Sheriff David B. Shoar said this is a very difficult time for his agency amid the arrest and ongoing investigation of former St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (SJSO) finance director Raye Brutnell.
Shoar noted that, although SJSO usually conducts investigations of its own staff, the Polk County Sheriff's Office is conducting an independent investigation on Brutnell because of her rank, history and relationships.
"I can tell you there's a lot of angst," the sheriff added. "The reason I'm here today is I subscribe to the leadership model that leaders don't get to just be at the helm when the good news comes. It's more important that they're there when the bad news comes and this, of course, is not great news."
According to a SJSO warrant affidavit obtained by the Recorder, Brutnell is being accused of defrauding the Sheriff's Office and associated Benevolence Fund of more than $700,000. She was arrested on charges of grand theft of over $100,000; organizing a scheme to defraud over $50,000; criminal use of personal identification information; forgery of bank checks; uttering a forged bank check; criminal use of personal identification; a scheme to defraud a financial institution; official misconduct; and unlawful use of a two way communication device.
Shoar, who has spent 38 years in law enforcement and 18 years as a chief of police or sheriff, said he learned over the years that he cannot control how others behave.
"There are times where you have to look at somebody you've known for 30 years, and have watched them grow professionally and personally and have always been considered one of the finest people anybody's ever met," he said. "You get to a point … where you have to take some people at faith. Sometimes, humans disappoint in that category."
Shoar commended the Sheriff's Office for admitting to mistakes rather than covering them up.
"At the end of the day, we never claim perfection," he said. "We're flawed people … These are things that happen, but they are profoundly disappointing when it's people you know and love."
Furthermore, Shoar said there are no indications that anyone else is involved in Brutnell's scheme and that these cases tend to be carried out by a lone wolf.
Brutnell, 47, was arrested on a warrant signed by Judge Howard Maltz. She turned herself in with her attorney, Hank Coxe, on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 20 at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Jail. SJSO terminated her employment after her arrest. Brutnell had been the director of finance since January 2013 and employed with SJSO since 1991.
