Sentencing date set for former Lexington Sheriff Metts

A sentencing date has been set for former Lexington County Sheriff James Metts following his guilty plea on a federal felony charge of conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants.

Metts is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. April 27 at the Federal Courthouse in Columbia by Judge Terry Wooten.

Metts’s long law enforcement career ended in disgrace when he admitted to the federal felony charge in December. At the time, he also admitted interfering to make sure the immigrants’ presence was never reported to U.S. Immigration and Enforcement officials – meaning their backgrounds were not checked against federal computerized records for serious criminal offenses.

The guilty plea came after Wooten initially rejected a plea agreed to by prosecutors and defense attorneys earlier that month that would have shielded Metts from a prison sentence.

After questioning attorneys on both sides about the facts and evidence, Wooten tentatively accepted a revised plea deal, calling the ex-sheriff’s charge of illegal interference with federal immigration procedures “extremely serious.” As part of the deal, nine other charges against Metts will be dropped.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson told the judge Metts was pleading guilty to the strongest count prosecutors said they had – a charge that Metts conspired with two other men to get two immigrants unlawfully released from the jail he once supervised in September and November 2011.

Wooten said at the time of Metts conviction – without saying specifically – that the former sheriff likely will be given time in prison. He could face 10 months to 10 years on the charge.

Metts was indicted June 17 on 10 federal felony counts, most of which charged he profited from the release of some illegal immigrants detained at the county jail. According to the indictment, Metts took cash from longtime associates Danny Frazier, former Lexington Town Council member, and Greg Leon, a restaurant operator, to get illegal immigrants who worked at Leon’s restaurants released.

In 2010, Metts won federal approval to keep illegal immigrants in his jail and made public statements about how important it was to crack down on illegal immigration.

The Lexington County jail was one of three dozen in the nation authorized to hold and process undocumented immigrants – though federal officials suspended the agreement after Metts was indicted. Officials said they will assess whether to renew ties after the outcome of his case.

After his indictment, Metts was suspended from office and stepped down in mid-December.

Interim Sheriff Lewis McCarty – a former top Metts aide, was appointed to the post until new elections could be held.

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Sentencing date set for former Lexington Sheriff Metts."