Purcellville Vice Mayor under criminal investigation amidst possible elimination of police department

PURCELLVILLE, Va. - The Vice Mayor of Purcellville is under criminal investigation in connection with the town's ongoing battle over disbanding the police department. 

On April 21, the Office of the Attorney General authorized Virginia State Police to conduct a criminal investigation into Purcellville Vice Mayor Carl "Ben" Nett. 

Commonwealth's Attorney Bob Anderson said Nett should be "prevented from accessing all police department records, voting on all matters involving the PPD and attending all meetings involving discussions about PPD." 

The notice of the criminal investigation comes as the Town of Purcellville is scheduled to meet Tuesday night to discuss the potential disbandment of its police department. Earlier this month, the Purcellville Town Council voted to eliminate the town's police department and give control over to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. 

The news was a surprise to the Purcellville Chief of Police and Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. 

Criminal investigation into Purcellville Vice Mayor

What we know:

Anderson said in a letter dated April 21 that Nett has violated provisions of the State and Local Government Conflict of Interest Act. 

Of issue, according to Anderson, is Nett's employment by the Purcellville Police Department while acting in his position as Vice Mayor. 

By serving in both roles, he had "oversight over the department that employs him," according to Anderson. Nett also hired, as Vice Mayor, an independent consultant to evaluate the police department – and asked the consultant to include his own recommendations for changes to the police department, including making him the chief of police. 

Nett was terminated from the PPD on April 8. Days later, he voted as vice mayor to eliminate the PPD. 

"This appears to be a retaliation against the police department for his termination as well as a blatant conflict of interest," Anderson writes.

FOX 5 has reached out to Nett for comment. 

READ MORE: Purcellville residents protest elimination of police department

The backstory:

At a budget meeting on April 9, the Purcellville Town Council voted to eliminate the town's police department. 

The town council gave multiple reasons for the elimination of the department. For starters, they have staffing issues. They’re approved for 21 officers but only have 16. The mayor said they have a problem with turnover that’s a financial drain on this town of around 10,000. It's consistently ranked one of the safest towns in Virginia. 

They also say the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office already patrols the town between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., and manages the resource officers in the schools. They also say it just makes financial sense. The move is expected to save Purcellville over $3 million. 

The mayor says this didn’t come up publicly because they knew it was a sensitive issue but says residents will have the opportunity to weigh in on this between now and July first if and when this transition happens.

The two council members that voted against it were Erin Rayner and Kevin Wright. Both said the vote caught them off guard.

A 13-page document states that the town would negotiate a contract with the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office to have a dedicated team of deputies assigned to Purcellville with 24/7 overlapping coverage.  

"Loudoun Sheriff Mike Chapman has neither been consulted about nor agrees with the representations in the document published in the Purcellville Town Council meeting packet describing the dissolution of its Police Department and replacement with services provided by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office," according to a statement from LCSO.  "Unfortunately, nothing in the published document has been discussed with Sheriff Chapman or the LCSO’s Leadership Team."

What they're saying:

"I was taken back. Just in shock. Without any discussion, without any public input, without any planning  and not even including the entire council when the motion came up," council member Kevin Wright said following the vote earlier this month. 

"I don’t care who’s acting like this," said resident Beth Goldsmith. "It is not good behavior it is embarrassing for our town. Our town deserves so much better than that, and Purcellville is a great place. I’ve been here for 20 years, my husband grew up in this area. You know, we really want Purcellville to succeed."

FOX 5 spoke to residents following the vote, many of whom were upset that there was not public discussion ahead of the vote. 

"My reaction to that is incredibly absolutely dumbfounded. I don’t even know how an idea like that can even be conceived. Police are instituted as being guardians of the peace," Purcellville resident Gerry King said. 

Dig deeper:

Read the letters from the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney on Nett below. 

Loudoun CountyNews