BARDSTOWN, Ky. (FOX 56) — Nearly a month after being named in a whistleblower lawsuit, the Nelson County sheriff and his chief deputy were indicted by a grand jury.
In February, Sheriff Ramon Pineiora and Chief Deputy Brandon Bryan were named in a lawsuit that claimed two sheriff’s deputies were allegedly retaliated against after reporting a supervisor for breaking the law.
Read more of the latest Kentucky news
Advertisement
Court documents allege that Bryan privately sold three vehicles, awarded to the office through drug forfeiture, from a Nelson County evidence warehouse despite Kentucky law requiring them to be sold in a public auction.
The buyer reportedly found fentanyl and other drugs inside the vehicles. Court documents claim that Bryan told the buyer to throw them in the trash.
A deputy reported the illegal sale to the sheriff and Kentucky State Police Drug Enforcement, Special Investigations (DESI), who began investigating the reported private sale. KSP DESI advised that Pineiora and Bryan would be advised in around two weeks.
Around that time, the reporting deputy was allegedly pulled from the process of joining a DEA division task force and forbidden from working any overtime, alongside another deputy who supported his decision to report the incident.
On February 26, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a significant False Claims Act (FCA) ruling in United States of America ex rel. Cheryl Taylor v. Healthcare ...