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Dismissed jailer to face criminal charges
By Rose Hooper
Dismissed Jackson County jailer Jeff Burnette of Glenville faces a June court date on criminal charges of indecent exposure.
Jane Charlotte Jones of Tuckasegee filed charges against Burnette May 12, after missing a scheduled May 10 meeting with the magistrate.
When Jones did not keep the May 10 appointment, Sheriff Jimmy Ashe said apparently charges would not be filed.
For there to be a criminal case, he said, the person making the allegations would have to press charges.
Jones said she decided to press charges “because it’s the right thing to do to keep this from happening to somebody else.”
Jones had previously alleged that Burnette exposed himself to her in March when she was an inmate in the detention center.
“These kind of things – what happened to me in our county jail – are just not supposed to happen,” she said.
According to Jones, she was in lockdown when Burnette opened the food tray entrance, giving her a full view of the detention area.
“He (Burnette) was standing over by the computer where the female guard was and when she went out to smoke a cigarette, he opened up his pants, pulled out his private parts and started playing with himself,” Jones said, indicating that Burnette talked to her while he was doing this.
Later, when another female prisoner was brought in, Jones said Burnette exposed himself again. The other prisoner, who reported the act the next morning, has not pressed criminal charges.
Ashe said he conducted an internal affairs investigation following the report. During that investigation, Burnette “confessed to inappropriate behavior,” said Ashe, who then dismissed the 31-year-old detention officer.
If Burnette is found guilty, he could face probation or a suspended sentence, according to District Attorney Mike Bonfoey.
Bonfoey and Ashe met with Jones on May 5 to discuss whether she would press charges and the possibility that she could be “re-victimized” on the witness stand, Ashe said.
Since coming forward with the accusations, Jones told the Herald that she is “scared.
“I’m scared that the case against me might be turned the wrong way.”
Burnette is scheduled to appear in Jackson County District Court 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 1.
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