Ex-Sheriff Eric Magrini on furlough from his role as Deputy CEO of Shasta

File Photo - Eric Magrini, right, is congratulated on December 10, 2019 after being chosen to succeed retired Tom Bosenko as Shasta County Sheriff.

File Photo – Eric Magrini, right, is congratulated on December 10, 2019 after being chosen to succeed retired Tom Bosenko as Shasta County Sheriff.

Former Shasta County Sheriff Eric Magrini has taken a leave of absence from his position as deputy chief executive, a county official confirmed.

Magrini, who resigned as sheriff in June 2021 to become an assistant general manager, went on leave 30 to 40 days ago, county board of supervisors chairman Patrick Jones said.

Jones said he doesn’t know why Magrini went on leave and he doesn’t know when or if he will return to work at the county.

“We got a note from our attorney saying not to talk to him,” Jones said, adding the note didn’t say why he shouldn’t talk to Magrini. “He just said to refrain from having any contact with Eric Magrini.”

Jones said he didn’t know more about Magrini’s furlough than what was in the memo. He said he hadn’t seen Magrini in at least a month and the two didn’t see each other often in the county administration building.

Magrini did not respond to a text message and voicemail. Emails sent to county attorney James Ross and acting county chief executive Mary Williams were also unacknowledged.

David Maung, a county public information officer, said that due to confidentiality concerns, he could only say that Magrini was still working for the county.

Magrini was sworn in as sheriff in January 2020, after the board of supervisors appointed him to the position in December 2019, after Tom Bosenko retired that year.

However, a year later, the sheriff’s office was in turmoil. Both the Sheriff’s Administrative Association and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association had approved no-confidence votes against Magrini.

The administrative association, made up of the department’s captains and lieutenants, has called for an investigation into the complaints against the sheriff.

Shasta County Sheriff-Coroner Eric Magrini receives his oath from Supervisor Leonard Moty in the Board of Supervisors chambers on Tuesday, January 7, 2020.

Shasta County Sheriff-Coroner Eric Magrini receives his oath from Supervisor Leonard Moty in the Board of Supervisors chambers on Tuesday, January 7, 2020.

Context of claims, promotion of employment

The groups accused Magrini of poor communication and leadership that led to low morale across the department.

In March 2021, at the request of the administrative association, the county hired the law firm Ellis & Makus to investigate the allegations. In April 2021, then-department captain and administrative association president Pat Kropholler filed a whistleblower report with the county.

Kropholler made numerous allegations, including that Magrini illegally used an official statewide database to obtain incriminating information about former CEO Matt Pontes, who at the time was applying for the executive position of the county.

Kropholler also claimed in the whistleblower letter that Magrini, while sheriff, lied to the public about not coordinating with a local militia that was present at a Black Lives Matter protest in Redding in June. 2020.

Dig deeper: Shasta County whistleblower alleged misconduct by former sheriff: A look at the allegations and background

The letter alleged that Magrini went so far as to send drone footage to militia members during the march, and then worked with the county’s information technology department to thwart a public records request seeking contact with members of the militia.

But on June 10, 2021, Pontes hired Magrini to become the deputy CEO.

Pontes praised Magrini, saying the former sheriff had the knowledge and experience to lead efforts to build a new prison that would include mental health and addiction treatment for inmates. He was also hired to lead county efforts to eradicate illegal marijuana grow ops.

The new job came with a 31% pay rise for Magrini.

Lawsuits against the county

Shortly before Magrini resigned to serve as sheriff, Kropholler said he was placed on administrative leave in retaliation for filing the whistleblower report. Kropholler was eventually allowed to return to his duties, but he retired in January 2022.

In the meantime, county officials said Ellis’ investigation ultimately found most of the allegations against Magrini were “unsubstantiated” and four were called “inadvertent errors.” County officials, however, would not release the report’s full findings.

In July 2021, the Board of Overseers nominated former Anderson Police Chief Michael Johnson as sheriff, without holding public interviews and with limited public input into the process.

In May 2022, Kropholler filed a lawsuit against the county, claiming he was retaliated against for reporting what he called “gross” misconduct in the sheriff’s office.

The Record Searchlight also sued the county in July 2022 for copies of the Ellis investigation.

A photo of Patrick Kropholler's retirement ceremony was posted on Facebook in January 2022. From left to right are Sheriff Michael Johnson, Kropholler, center, and Captain Brian Jackson.

A photo of Patrick Kropholler’s retirement ceremony was posted on Facebook in January 2022. Left to right are Sheriff Michael Johnson, Kropholler, center, and Captain Brian Jackson.

Before suing the county, the newspaper submitted four separate requests under the California Public Records Act for copies of the report. The newspaper also requested copies of all communications between senior county officials surrounding the Ellis report and the hirings of Magrini and Johnson. The county denied each of the claims.

After a trial in January, a Shasta County Superior Court judge ruled on April 10 that the county must, within 15 days, waive copies of the report and communications. Instead of returning the records, the county asked for a delay in enforcing the order and asked the judge to reverse his decision or hold a new trial.

Judge Stephen Baker denied the county’s requests and ordered the county to turn over the documents to the newspaper by Friday, May 26.

Dig deeper: ‘Pure aggression’: Shasta County hits back at Record Searchlight in documents case

Record Searchlight attorney Walt McNeill said county attorneys on Friday provided Baker with copies of documents requested by the newspaper and offered redactions to the records.

Before disclosing the records to the newspaper, the judge will review the information for possible redactions to remove personal and private information. McNeill will also have the opportunity to approve or object to proposed redacted information.

Journalist Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Ex-Sheriff Eric Magrini on furlough from Shasta Co.: ‘Don’t talk to him’

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