New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 28, 2024

NK deputy sheriff fired, indicted for embezzling

By Alan Chamberlain | June 10, 2010 9:04 am

A former New Kent deputy sheriff faces a felony embezzlement charge stemming from close to $1,000 in unauthorized gasoline purchases he allegedly made while still employed by the department.

A county circuit court grand jury handed up an indictment on May 17 charging E. Todd Landrum, 35, of 9724 Royerton Drive in Henrico County, on one count of embezzlement. The court promptly sealed the indictment, pending Landrum’s arrest. Sheriff’s personnel arrested the suspect on June 2.

Landrum spent close to five years on the New Kent force starting in 2002 before resigning in 2007 to accept a job in Chicago. Last year, he returned to New Kent and was rehired as a deputy on July 1.

Sheriff F.W. “Wakie” Howard Jr. said Landrum is accused of using a department-issued credit card to make unauthorized gasoline purchases over a period of several months. The sheriff said he confronted Landrum in April concerning the matter and the deputy readily admitted making the purchases. Howard fired Landrum on April 20.

“Our internal controls caught the situation, and we opened our own criminal investigation,” Howard said this week.

“After we concluded our investigation, we requested that the State Police send in an investigator to look over our findings,” the sheriff said. “We wanted an outside agency to review what we had done, and that investigator concurred with our findings.”

Landrum has been released on $5,000 bond. He is due in New Kent Circuit Court next Monday for arraignment.