SALISBURY – Officials in Wicomico County introduced legislation this week creating three new positions in the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes said the addition of two prosecutors and one investigator would provide additional resources to the agency as two separate investigations move forward that could impact pending and closed criminal cases.
“If these three positions are allocated, we can start recruiting and engaging in conversations to get some good people down here,” she told the council this week.
On Feb. 10, the state’s attorney’s office began the process of providing disclosures in every criminal case that was charged by the Salisbury Police Department or that contains evidence that is or was being held in the custody of the police department from April 22, 1997 to Feb. 7, 2020 after determining the department’s property storage facilities containing evidence may have been compromised.
The Salisbury Police Department contacted the office on Feb. 6 regarding a potential theft committed by a civilian employee assigned to its property storage facilities. As a result of a briefing with the department on Feb. 7, the state’s attorney’s office – believing the integrity of the facilities to be compromised – contacted the Office of the State’s Attorney and the Office of the Attorney General.
A full investigation by outside law enforcement agencies is now underway in that potential breach.
The police department, however, is now facing another unrelated investigation after the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office discovered a memo from 2011 alleging three police officers from the Salisbury Police Department may have failed to disclose information and evidence in a criminal case that has since been closed.
As a result of that discovery, three police officers and a Wicomico County prosecutor have been placed on leave pending an internal investigation.
Since both issues have come to light, Dykes told the council the state’s attorney’s office has provided disclosures in 223 cases regarding property issues and disclosures in 633 cases involving any of the three police officers.
“None of us at this time know the number of cases this will impact,” she said. “But I assure you that it will be unlike anything any state’s attorney’s office in this state has suffered.”
Deputy State’s Attorney Bill McDermott said defense attorneys may now file motions to reopen cases. He said that will add to the caseloads being handled by prosecutors.
“There are 15 prosecutors that are handling 852 major circuit court cases …,” he said. “With two more prosecutors we can take on the additional load of the last 10 years, and the last 20 years if we are talking about the property room issue.”
Officials said the request for three positions would total more than $300,000 in salaries and benefits. Councilman Joe Holloway, however, said the council could not approve any future budget requests for the three positions without an appointed finance director.
“If we approve these positions at some point in time, we have to approve funding,” he said. “We can’t do that.”
Officials, however, explained that salary savings totaling nearly $49,000 would allow the office to fund an investigator for the evidence room investigation for the remainder of the fiscal year.
“That is more of an emergent need,” Dykes said. “It is going to take us a little bit of time to find the right attorneys to fill these spots.”
Officials clarified that the resolution being introduced this week did not appropriate money for the positions, but rather created the three positions in the county’s classification and pay plan.
“This particular bill, as it’s drafted, does not appropriate any money. It just approves positions,” Bob Taylor, council attorney, said. “Now in next year’s budget, to address this finance director aspect, I don’t think that would be an impediment because we don’t need the finance director to authorize next year’s budget.”
Councilman Josh Hastings questioned if the city would help fund the position needed for the investigation.
“The wrong that happened didn’t start in Wicomico County, but Wicomico County is footing the bill,” he said.
Dykes said County Executive Bob Culver would make that request.
Councilman Bill McCain was concerned the bill did not include language limiting the term of the three positions.
“This is a temporary problem,” he said. “It could go on for a long time, but the request is to meet this temporary emergency we are faced with. The legislation is the permanent addition of these three positions.”
McDermott, however, noted adding such language could limit the number of applicants to those positions.
“We are not going to get those people attracted to this position if they are worried that a year from now they might not be employed,” he said.
The council voted unanimously to introduce the legislative bill with public hearing set for April 7 at 6 p.m.
