Deputy Sheriff Lance Kuretza of the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, has been placed on paid administrative leave following a federal indictment handed down by a federal grand jury, according to a press release from department officials.
The indictment was announced Thursday morning by Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld for the Northern District of West Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal court unsealed the two-count indictment which alleges that on Jan. 20, 2018, Kuretza deprived an individual of his civil rights by using excessive force and then wrote a false report to cover it up.
The indictment states Kuretza, 38, deprived the victim of his fourth amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures and subjected the victim to excessive force by punching and elbowing him in the face.
After the victim was handcuffed, the deputy allegedly sprayed him with pepper spray and kneed the victim while escorting him. The offense resulted in bodily injury to the victim and included the use of a dangerous weapon.
A second count on the indictment alleges Kuretza knowingly falsified his reports of the incident with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation and proper administration by stating the pepper spray was used before the victim was handcuffed and not submitting any documentation of post-handcuffing excessive force.
Kuretza was arrested Thursday morning, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. The FBI is investigating the case with the support of the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office.
An indictment does not indicate guilt and Kuretza is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
According to the DOJ, Attorney Sarah E. Wagner for the Northern District of West Virginia and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are the prosecuting attorneys.
There will be no further comment from the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office, according to a press release issued by Sheriff Perry Palmer.
If convicted, Kuretza faces up to 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation and up to 20 years in prison for falsifying the report.
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