Disgraced Ex-Sheriff Ready For Prison: Attorneys

NASHVILLE, TN — Disgraced former Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold is ready to move out of detention and into a federal prison as soon as possible, according to a recent filing by his attorneys.

"(Arnold) has been detained since approximately September 26, 2016 under the functional equivalent of solitary confinement due to his status as a former law enforcement officer, and seeks to be placed in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons as soon as is practicable," attorney Tom Dundon wrote in a motion requesting an expedited sentencing hearing.

After he pleaded guilty to wire fraud, honest services fraud and extortion related to his involvement in the JailCigs case — three of the 14 counts he was initially indicted for — Arnold's sentencing was set for May by U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Sharp. Sharp, however, announced he would resign April 15 and both Arnold's defense team and the prosecutors asked for sentencing to take place ahead of Sharp's resignation.

The request was rejected by Judge Marvin Aspen, a visiting judge from the Northern District of Illinois. He set sentencing for Arnold and his co-defendants — his uncle John Vanderveer and former chief administrative deputy Joe Russell — for September, but indicated he would be willing to move those dates up.

Arnold was initially held in the Grayson County, Ky. jail after his pre-trial release was voided by Sharp following a domestic altercation at his Murfreesboro home over Labor Day weekend. In February, he was moved to the West Tennessee Detention Facility operated by private-prison operator CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America.

Image via Grayson County (Ky.) Sheriff's Department