Franklin sheriff says he won’t pay fine or transfer equipment. Could he be jailed?
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- Raymond holds six guns, a fingerprint scanner, a patrol car and taser cartridges.
- Judge Johnson ordered Raymond to surrender most equipment by May 27 or face sanctions.
- If Raymond defies the order, he faces a $3,500 fine and $1,000 per day thereafter.
The Franklin County sheriff isn’t backing down even after being found in contempt of court and threatened with fines or even more serious penalties.
Sheriff Jim Raymond continues to hold on to six guns, a fingerprint scanner, a patrol car and taser cartridges even after Walla Walla Judge Brandon Johnson found he defied a court order to give them to jail officials.
On Thursday, Johnson gave Raymond until the end of the day Wednesday, May 27, to hand over most of the equipment to the Franklin County Department of Corrections.
He won’t need to hand over the guns yet, until they are officially registered under the corrections department.
If Raymond doesn’t comply, Judge Johnson said he must pay a $3,500 fine, and then another $1,000 a day for each day after that. Johnson said Raymond must pay the money, not the county.
Raymond told the Tri-City Herald on Friday that he won’t pay or turn over the equipment.
He has told the media and the public that he doesn’t believe the orders are legal and has said he’ll start a GoFundMe to pay the fines.
Johnson is handling the case after all the Benton-Franklin Superior Court judges recused themselves because the county pays a portion of their salaries.
If the sheriff doesn’t follow the order, he is required to appear for a June 3 hearing. Johnson has ordered Raymond and the attorneys to appear in court.
Johnson has said he is willing to use more “coercive sanctions” beyond the fines, if necessary. That could include sending him to jail or being ordered to pay higher fines and/or attorney fees.
Raymond has appealed Johnson’s order. It is possible that the court could pause the penalties until they make a ruling.
Franklin County equipment dispute
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, said he needs to maintain control over the security cards to protect the security at the courthouse.
Officials said the newer fingerprint machine has features that are needed for daily use in the office and that a detective is already driving the patrol car.
The sheriff’s office still has access to the security logs for people coming and going from the courthouse.
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.
Rhetoric between Raymond and county officials have continued to escalate in recent days, starting with Raymond telling the Herald that he refused to turn the equipment over.
“I budgeted for that property. It’s owned by the people not the county,” Raymond said. “I can clearly show you where I budgeted for all those items.”
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 4:06 PM.