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Albany Man Alleges Assault By Athens Co. Sheriff
By: Rose Troyer
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An alleged assault case involving Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly is now in the hands of the state's attorney general's office.
Jill Del Greco, spokeswoman for Attorney General Mike DeWine, says Brian Deckert, a prosecutor with the Ohio Attorney General, is assigned to the case.
Albany resident Dave Jenkinson called 911 on Saturday and alleged that Kelly assaulted him and threatened to arrest him in Jacksonville.
Jenkinson says he was distributing flyers outside of the VFW, where a fundraiser to Kelly's re-election campaign was taking place.
He alleges Kelly became upset about the flyers and shoved one in Jenkinson's shirt pocket.
Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn sent a request that the attorney general's office take on the case of allegations against Kelly.
Blackburn said he had a conflict since the sheriff is a statutory client.
Del Greco says the case has been fast-tracked due to the upcoming November election, in which Kelly is running for re-election.
The solicitor for the village of Jacksonville, Frank Lavelle, also asked to excuse himself from the case, citing limited village resources and disclosing he is a supporter of Kelly's re-election campaign.
Jenkinson says his flyers were not election-related and he is not a member of Kelly's opponent's campaign.
Kelly said that the allegations are "ludicrous" and did not happen.