Judge: Robert Arnold Cannot Be Trusted, Will Remain Locked Up

NASHVILLE, TN —A federal judge ruled Monday that former Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold will remain jailed ahead of his sentencing in May, despite his guilty plea on three charges related to the JailCigs scandal at the jail he once ran.

Lawyers for Arnold, who has been held in a Kentucky jail since his pre-trial release was revoked in September following a Labor Day weekend domestic incident involving his wife, asked U.S District Court Judge Kevin Sharp to release him following his guilty plea last week, saying that among the reasons for his pre-trial detention was that he could use his authority as sheriff to engage in malefeasance. Having been suspended as sheriff, they argued, there was no reason to continue holding him.

Sharp, however, noted that was just one of the reasons Arnold was jailed. Among the others was that he was a threat to his own safety and that he could not be trusted to comply with the directives of the probation office and the court itself. In fact, Sharp noted, Arnold cannot be trusted to even show up for court as required.

Thus, Arnold will remain behind bars until his sentencing which is scheduled for May 7. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each charge.

Image via Grayson, Ky. Detention Center