BRADFORD COUNTY, Fla. — A Bradford County deputy has been arrested and charged with theft after the sheriff said he confessed to stealing $550 from a jail inmate’s account.
Detectives with the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office received information about a theft from an inmate account on Wednesday, a sheriff’s office news release states.
Deputy Francis Highland was interviewed by detectives and, after waiving his Miranda rights, he confessed to taking the funds from the account, the news release states.
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Highland is facing two felony counts of fraudulently obtaining under $20K and one misdemeanor count of petit theft, the news release states. He was immediately fired, and his corrections certification will be sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for review and possible revocation.
“To say I am disappointed is an understatement,” Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith stated in the news release. “The Bradford County Sheriff’s Office strives to be professional and beyond reproach.”
Highland was booked into the Bradford County jail and remains in a facility pending his first appearance.
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