The Shadow
Welcome back Shadowers! Today, we have an extremely alarming situation to address: Is our own Sheriff breaking the law?
Alleghany County Sheriff Kyle Moore recently paid a visit to the Virginian Review offices and stated, “I have made the decision not to share press releases to the Virginian Review due to the Shadow and because I think the Virginian is not a reputable newspaper. The Shadow is bad for the community and is filled with misinformation and gossip.”
If Sheriff Moore truly believes his statement and intends to weaponize his personal opinions to execute his professional responsibilities, then we just might have a dereliction of duty or even a malfeasance issue on our hands.
First and foremost, the Shadow is only uncomfortable for people who think operating above the law is acceptable. The Virginian Review is in fact, a legitimate, Newspaper of Record, recognized by the State and the Virginia Press Association for 110 years. Unfortunately for several years, the Virginian Review was being filtered and controlled by local government officials, so the newspaper wasn’t able to publish the harsh reality of what was really going on in our local governments.
However, times have changed, and it seems local officials aren’t liking what’s being published.
The major concern here is, apparently the Sheriff is having great difficulty in distinguishing between rumor and fact. Over the past several months, the Shadow has brought to light many unethical and illicit acts directly within our local government. These were not rumors, they were established facts, proven by official government records provided by the public officials themselves.
Is Sheriff Moore now using his official office to protect the public officials who have been called out for their unethical and illicit activities?
It seems very concerning that the words he used echoed almost exactly those of embattled Mayor Sibold who tried to cover up the facts his building department was operating illegally, his water department was facing multiple state and federal violations, and was apparently aiding and abetting illegal activities from a local business that was finally shut down by the State Fire Marshal.
As an elected official, Sheriff Moore swore an oath to serve the public impartially and uphold the law. This issue is critical because if the Sheriff struggles to separate his personal views from his professional responsibilities, it raises the serious question: Is he using personal bias to enact the law? Is he arresting people because of his personal opinions?
Is this evidence he is unfit for office?
What he is potentially stating here is, because he personally doesn’t like what you say, or what you do, he’s going to weaponize his office against you. Using this tactic, he could essentially target anyone if he doesn’t like the color of their skin, their religion, how they look, or what they say. And make no mistake, he has the power to easily retaliate, arrest, or make anyone’s life difficult just because they are on the wrong side of his personal opinion.
Secondly, it is unconstitutional. Sheriff Moore is violating the First Amendment, Freedom of the Press. The press serves as a critical check on government power by holding public officials accountable. When officials block access to information because they don’t like what’s being said, it hinders the media’s ability to report on government actions, reducing accountability and oversight. As a veteran protecting the rights of all American citizens, Sheriff Moore should know implicitly these constitutional rights as he fought and defended them.
Finally, it is potentially retaliatory on many different levels. Not only is it illegal for public officials to retaliate against someone or an entity because an official personally doesn’t like what’s being said, but if the Sheriff’s actions are part of a broader effort to harm the business operations of the newspaper, say in concert with the Mayor or others, it could potentially violate Virginia’s conspiracy statutes. These laws prohibit individuals from conspiring to injure others in their trade, business, or profession.
Perhaps the Sheriff doesn’t want you to know about the drug overdoses that recently happened in his jail, and on his watch? Didn’t the taxpayers purchase an expensive machine to avoid this situation? Or what about the recent mass casualty event that hospitalized six inmates for seizures caused supposedly by a chemical used for lice disinfestation? Staff toxicology stated that they did not feel the symptoms were caused by any kind of chemical reaction involving the three substances that were used. This sounds like a simple case of irresponsible leadership.
What’s extremely concerning is, that in both cases, the Sheriff used internal investigations to prove no further drugs were found, and no negligence nor police violations were discovered.
Come on Sheriff Moore, you could do better and should do better.
We have an update on the recent case of former Chief Deputy Sheriff Chad Wickline. Wickline crashed his vehicle in the early morning hours of April 13 on Interstate 64 apparently leaving a short set of skid marks before crashing into the center wire barrier. Okay folks, here’s a short driver test for you. If you’re in an accident on the Interstate and you wreck into the barrier and smash your car, what are you supposed to do?
Call the police.
And one would think Wickline would have his boss’s number or just about any other law enforcement officer on speed dial right? However, Wickline, the second-highest law enforcement officer in Alleghany County, personally decided to flee the scene. Why would anyone flee the scene, unless you were doing something you’re not supposed to be doing?
Leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury or damage over $1,000 in Virginia is a Class 5 felony (§ 46.2-894). The Virginian Review is familiar with how much it costs to repair an Interstate barrier, as one former employee accidentally wrecked into a barrier, causing $18,070.72 worth of damage to the road. So why did Wickline leave the scene and wait several days before reporting the accident? This is an officer of the law, who’s been highly trained on these sorts of policies and procedures, and yet he himself can’t seem to follow the laws that he had been hired to enforce?
The plot thickens. Wickline allegedly had his vehicle towed without the required report to the Virginia State Police. The Shadow’s research team reached out to several local tow truck companies, which all stated they did not tow Wickline’s vehicle and confirmed they are required to contact VSP before towing a vehicle. This is to ensure proper documentation of the accident for liability and insurance purposes. This left only a very few towing companies that could have potentially towed the vehicle. One of them is allegedly the son-in-law of Sheriff Moore.
Wickline’s case was decided last week, and it seems the Commonwealth attorney dropped the charges for Wickline leaving the scene of an accident. Wickline pled “no contest” to operating a vehicle with improper brakes. $2k fine. $96 court costs. He walks.
I’m out of time and out of coffee, but wondering if I’m going to get arrested for expressing my First Amendment rights, or a massive raid will occur on my employer’s office for publishing it.
