Commonwealth Attorney Bell’s statement on Warren Co.’s Sheriff

Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell released an email statement regarding a case involving Sheriff Mark Butler.

After a number of inquiries by citizens following an online article involving in part the filing made by Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell’s office released a statement.

The filing in a pending Circuit Court case involves Warren County Sheriff Mark Butler.

It is a prosecutor’s legal and ethical duty to disclose exculpatory evidence and information that casts doubt on the truthfulness of a witness.

The Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney is obligated by law to make a disclosure in the case of the Commonwealth verses Hutzell.

That is a Circuit Court case in which then Town of Herndon Police Officer Mark Butler made an arrest.

Two Internal Affairs investigations were conducted by the Town of Herndon Police Department after the 2019 arrest.

The results of the investigation resulted in the then Officer Butler being accused of falsifying statements in two separate incidents.

In light of this information the Commonwealth’s Attorney is unable to call Sheriff Butler to the witness stand as a credible witness.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is now evaluating all cases where Sheriff Butler is a potential witness to see if the prosecutions can proceed without him.

There will also be a review of some prior cases to evaluate the impact of Butler’s participation.

In the released statement from John Bell’s office this was called a painful duty when the witness is a law enforcement officer.

The statement went on to say it is a particularly painful duty when the officer involved is the elected sheriff.

Below is a copy of the full statement from Warren County Commonwealth Attorney John Bell’s Office.

Statement of Commonwealth’s Attorney Bell on

Case Filing Regarding Sheriff Butler

Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell issued the following statement.
“This office has received a number of inquiries in response to a recent online article which
discusses, in part, a filing made by this office in a pending Circuit Court case involving Sheriff
Butler. All prosecutors have a legal and ethical duty to disclose exculpatory evidence about a
witness, that is, any information that casts doubt on the truthfulness of that witness. It is a
painful duty when that witness is a law enforcement officer. It is a particularly painful duty when
that officer is your elected Sheriff.
“We were obligated to make such a disclosure in the case of Commonwealth v Hutzell, CR22-
533, a Circuit Court case in which Sheriff Butler was the arresting officer. The disclosure
consists of the results of two Internal Affairs investigations conducted by the Town of Herndon
Police Department when Sheriff Butler was employed there as an Officer in 2019. The Town of
Herndon concluded that then-Officer Butler falsified statements in two different official Police
reports about two separate incidents.
“As a result of this information, we are unable to call Sheriff Butler to the witness stand as a
credible witness. We are currently evaluating all cases where Sheriff Butler is a potential
witness to see if the prosecutions can proceed without him. There will also be a review of some
prior cases to evaluate the impact of his participation.”

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