Franklin sheriff makes decision on complying with court order or turning himself in
Franklin County’s Sheriff’s won’t need to turn himself in to the Franklin County jail after returning equipment at the center of a yearlong jail dispute.
Sheriff Jim Raymond was given a Friday deadline to turn over a fingerprint scanner or turn himself in.
The county’s Information Systems department collected the $26,000 piece of equipment at 1 p.m. Thursday, said Randall Gaylord, one of the attorneys representing Raymond.
The scanner had been at the center of a running dispute between the sheriff after the commissioners stripped control of the jail from Raymond last year. He was ordered to give the machine to the jail, but the sheriff said handing it over would put him at legal risk.
Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond sits with his attornery’s as Walla Walla Superior Court Judge Brandon Johnson sets a deadline for turning over a fingerprint machine during Wednesday’s court hearing at the Franklin County Courthouse in Pasco. Megan Clark, the attorney representing Franlin County, is seated at far left. Attorneys Rebecca Boatright and Randall Gaylord are in the middle. Bob Brawdy/bbrawdy@tricityherald.com
Visiting Walla Walla County Judge Brandon Johnson disagreed with Raymond’s argument and said if moving the device created problems the county and commissioners would face those legal liabilities.
Johnson pointed out that he wasn’t deciding whether moving the machine was a good idea, just whether it was legally required.
Moving the device does create problems for the sheriff’s office, which has used the machine since 2025 to take fingerprints from sex offenders. Without the device, they won’t be able to process new registrations, Gaylord said.
Rebecca Boatright, an attorney representing Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond, makes a point while presenting her arguments to Walla Walla Superior Court Judge Brandon Johnson during Wednesday’s court hearing at the Franklin County Courthouse in Pasco. Bob Brawdy/bbrawdy@tricityherald.com
It’s unclear what the next steps will be. It’s also not clear if the sheriff is able to use another machine in the sheriff’s office for that purpose.
Gaylord said the office had two machines for more than a decade, and it will take someone with specialized training to change reprogram them.
“The county’s Information Systems department is not set up to (change the configuration),” Gaylord said. “The sheriff’s office is not able to perform sex offender registration. We have no timeline for that to return.”
“The county’s Information Systems department is not set up to (change the configuration),” Gaylord said. “The sheriff’s office is not able to perform sex offender registration. We have no timeline for that to return.”
Walla Walla Superior Court Judge Brandon Johnson conducts Wednesday’s court hearing at the Franklin County Courthouse in Pasco. Bob Brawdy/bbrawdy@tricityherald.com
Lingering questions
While the sheriff has handed over almost all the equipment included in a May 3 order, six handguns remain in dispute. The sheriff has said that he handed over a list of guns in his armory to let the commissioners pick the ones they wanted.
He doesn’t have to transfer the guns until the county determines how to shift the registration to the Franklin County Department of Corrections.
Gaylord said the county still hasn’t transferred ownership of the 30 guns the corrections department already has. Both transfers will require the assistance of a federally licensed firearms dealer.
“We don’t believe that is going to be difficult to resolve,” Gaylord said.
There is also an outstanding request from Raymond for the Washington State Court of Appeals to look at the order and decide whether it was legal. The appeals court will make the decision following an Oct. 8 hearing.
The final question will be whether the steps that Franklin County commissioners took to strip the jail away were constitutional. Raymond has repeatedly insisted that they weren’t.
Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond held a press conference over handing over equipment when the county took control of the jail last year. Larissa Babiak/Tri-City Herald
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Fight over the jail
The dispute stems from a decision last year, when the county commissioners removed the jail from the sheriff’s department and created a new corrections department.
When the county took over jail operations, Sheriff Raymond initially took 30 guns from the jail that were licensed under his office. He later returned them.
Six other guns are still in the sheriff’s office. The county also took over issuing security cards to employees, and demanded that a patrol car and one of the two fingerprint machines at the sheriff’s office be returned.
Raymond, who is retiring at the end of the year, has argued he can’t turn taser cartridges and guns to the corrections officers because they aren’t allowed to have them.
Officials also said then that the newer fingerprint machine has features that are needed for daily use in the office.
However, Johnson ruled in February that the county owns the property, so the commissioners can decide what to do with it.
He also noted he can’t weigh in on whether it’s a good or bad idea for the commissioners to remove the equipment. He can only say whether the resolution passed by the commissioners was legal.
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Source: Franklin sheriff makes decision under threat of jail | Tri-City Herald
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