Franklin sheriff calls for federal investigation into county officials

The Franklin County sheriff is calling for a federal investigation into the “corrupt practices” of county officials.

Sheriff Jim Raymond sent a six-page letter to Pete Serrano, Pasco’s ex-mayor and now the interim U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington. He accuses the three county commissioners and Auditor Matt Beaton of breaking the law.

“(T)his pattern of action by government officials is of grave concern,” Raymond wrote in the letter posted on sheriff’s office Facebook page late Friday, Oct. 10. “It has been made clear there is no appetite for holding public officials accountable at the local or state level; therefore, I am requesting the Department of Justice review these matters for possible violations of criminal law.”

It remains unclear what will happen with Raymond’s complaints or whether the U.S. Attorney’s Office has jurisdiction to investigate the complaints.

Neither Raymond or Serrano could be reached on Monday.

Because of the federal shutdown, the Department of Justice is focusing on national security, violations of federal law and essential public safety functions, said an automated email message on Monday.

Franklin County Administrator Brian Dansel told the Herald on Monday he wouldn’t be able to respond as fully as he would like because of ongoing litigation with Sheriff Raymond.

“However, we welcome with open arms, a full and thorough investigation from the Department of Justice, the state attorney general or whoever else the sheriff wishes to send charging documents to. All we ask is that when an investigation is being done, that they look at the sheriff and his actions as well with an equal amount of scrutiny. We believe this would be very illuminating,” he said in an email to the Herald.

The sheriff also leveled accusations against Beaton and the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.

Raymond and the commissioners have been locked in a struggle with each other for two years, starting with claims that Beaton and Commissioner Rocky Mullen engaged in a criminal conspiracy. And, this year, tempers flared when the county commission suddenly to stripped control of the jail from the sheriff.

“Several actions taken by certain public officials in Franklin County appear suspicious and may even be unlawful,” Raymond wrote. “When examined collectively, these action suggest an ongoing obstruction by public officials and possible misuse of public funds.”

Dansel said these threats made by the sheriff are part of a repeated pattern by Raymond to make claims on social media about crimes and nothing ever comes of it. Dansel expects the same result over Friday’s post.

“The sheriff has verbally and, by emails, letters and official communications, threatened to arrest multiple county employees for doing their jobs,” Dansel said in a statement to the Herald.

“He has threatened to arrest me, former officials and their staff as well. Most recently, he threatened to arrest the chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney, our Information Services director, and the captain of the jail.”

Conspiracy investigation

Most of the claims raised in Raymond’s letter to Serrano have been made public previously, including a 2024 investigation into how Beaton allegedly interjected himself in the process for approving payments for the former contractor of the HAPO Center.

When the county administrator at that time, Mike Gonzalez, discovered what Beaton had done, he spoke with the county’s legal advisor in the prosecutor’s office, and the issue was referred to the sheriff’s office to investigate, the Tri-City Herald reported.

Gonzalez accused Beaton of trying to get him fired, which then led to a meeting between Beaton, Mullen and Gonzalez. The county administrator secretly recorded the conversation, and later turned that recording over to sheriff’s investigators.

Gonzalez was asked to write a letter saying that he misunderstood the situation, according to documents related to the investigation. Gonzalez refused to write the letter, saying it would be a lie.

The results of the sheriff’s office investigation were handed over to Snohomish County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Elise Deschenes, who declined to prosecute Beaton or Mullen.

She called their actions “irregular,” but said there was not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred.

Gonzalez ended up accepting a $133,000 payout from the county to leave his job.

Beaton, however, sued Gonzalez for recording him. Spokane Superior Court Judge Breann Beggs found in a summary judgment motion that Gonzalez illegally recorded him and Mullen. A hearing on damages is scheduled for April 2026.

The sheriff also asked Serrano to investigate Commissioner Clint Didier’s attempt to fire the wife of the sheriff’s lead investigator into the allegations against Beaton and Mullen.

Misappropriated money allegations

Raymond also claimed in the Department of Justice letter that money was improperly diverted from the sheriff’s office and the jail.

He said Beaton “misallocated appropriated funds” that were meant to pay for a new patrol vehicle.

Raymond didn’t say where that money went or if the vehicle was ever purchased. Though, he said Beaton’s move resulted in the office spending more money than it had.

Beaton told the Herald on Monday that Raymond’s financial allegations from 2024 are completely untrue and already have been investigated and cleared by Washington state auditors.

Beaton said county commissioners paused buying vehicles for a time, but Raymond went ahead with a purchase.

“This issue was brought to the State Auditor’s Office, and their independent process proved what was true all along,” Beaton said. “He seems to be unmoved even when that is verified by independent sources.”

Raymond also claimed the commissioners used $937,000 from an “inmate benefit” account to balance the 2025 budget.

“This action was done after the county’s legal counsel advised the Treasurer’s Office to deposit the money into the inmate benefit account,” Raymond wrote in his letter to Serrano.

Jail decision

The county commission’s push to strip control of courthouse security and jail operations from the sheriff makes up a large portion of his complaints in the letter.

He also included his dispute with Commissioner Stephen Bauman for changing the lock on a courthouse office door despite the sheriff warning that posed a security risk and that Bauman didn’t have the authority to do that.

The commissioners made the decision to take over the jail in April 2025, which Raymond maintains raised many legal problems.

“Many unresolved issues place the employees in significant legal jeopardy,” Raymond said. “It also raises a concerning issue regarding what authority they are acting under while enforcing governmental interests.”

The jail also maintained its armory of 50 guns, which are registered to the sheriff’s office, he said. Since the jail employees are no longer under the sheriff’s jurisdiction, it’s unclear whether they are able to use their guns when they are transporting inmates.

He claimed the commissioners have tried to work around the issue, but are not on the right side of state law.

A judge previously ruled that the corrections officers need the weapons in case of an emergency.

The gun dispute also led to claims Raymond assaulted a jail captain, and also to an injunction by the deputy’s union to prevent Raymond from ordering them to violate a court order.

“In just my short time here, the sheriff has had run-ins with the auditor, assessor, treasurer, prosecuting attorney, myself, the board of commissioners, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, the State Auditor’s Office, the Fraternal Order of Police .... and the list will always continue to grow the first moment anyone disagrees with the sheriff,” Dansel told the Herald in a statement.

The sheriff said he has tried to check on the condition of the jail, but has been denied access by jail employees and the county administrator.

“I have strenuously attempted to take legal action to prevent this unconstitutional takeover of the jail; however, Franklin County has refused to provide the Office of the Sheriff with adequate legal counsel that would get this matter properly before the courts,” Raymond said.

This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.