GRANTSVILLE, W.Va. — Calhoun County Prosecutor Nigel Jeffries said Tuesday that he’ll file a petition in circuit court by the end of the week to begin the process of attempting to remove Calhoun County Sheriff J. Warren Basnett from office.
Jeffries told MetroNews there are at least 11 actions Basnett has taken that come into question.
“The actions of the sheriff rise to the level of mal-administration, possible misfeasance, neglect of duty and incompetence,” Jeffries said.
He plans to file a petition in circuit court by Friday to get the process started. If Circuit Judge Craig Tatterson finds in favor of the petition, the chief justice of the state Supreme Court would be asked to appoint a three-judge panel to consider testimony in the possible removal.
Jeffries shared his plans with the Calhoun County Commission at Tuesday’s commission meeting. The commission has been considering a separate resolution that would also seek removal. The two efforts could end up being consolidated.
Jeffries said the situation stems from Basnett’s decision to take weapons and drug paraphernalia to Calhoun County Middle-Senior High School on Career Day that was held on March 31.
“Several of the children picked up the guns, AR-style rifles as well as a handgun, and they were pointing them at one another, at least long enough for other students to video tape them and post it on social media,” Jeffries said.
He said the drug paraphernalia still had some drug residue in it which put the health and safety of the children at risk.
Sheriff Basnett has since said he had taken the firing pins out of the weapons. Jeffries said there’s no way to prove that was the case.
Jeffries said his gathering of facts in the Career Day issue led him to other areas of concern that add up to removal including:
–Calhoun County no longer has a certified sheriff’s deputy. There were three certified deputies when Basnett took office in 2021. Jeffries said he’s learned they left in part because of mismanagement.
–Basnett sold five police cruisers. Jeffries alleges it was not advertised correctly. He said they were sold for $100 each. He said the cruisers are now trying to be resold on Facebook Marketplace
–allegations that Basnett did not go through the minimum standards required in the hiring process of a certified law enforcement officer
Jeffries said he is filing the petition after much consideration.
“This was not done on a whim. This is something that I have taken a deliberative process with to make sure that the accusations that I have formulated are accurate and provable and I believe they are,” Jeffries said.
The prosecutor said he knows attempting to remove an elected official from office isn’t a simple process and it shouldn’t be. But he said he and Basnett are both accountable to the residents of Calhoun County.
“If I allowed this to continue down this same road I don’t know how I could tell them (residents) that I dispensed my duties accurately and properly,” Jeffries said. “I have an obligation to present this evidence (to a three-judge panel),” Jeffries said.
Basnett was elected as sheriff in November 2020.
MetroNews attempted to contact Basnett. We are awaiting a response.