Rockingham sheriff quits amid scandal

CONCORD – The Rockingham County sheriff and his top deputy resigned Tuesday after being accused of illegally disclosing a political rival’s annulled criminal record to reporters.

Attorney General Michael Delaney said he would not bring misdemeanor charges in exchange for the resignation of Sheriff Dan Linehan and Maj. Mark Peirce.

But he said there was sufficient evidence that the men broke a state law banning the disclosure of someone’s arrest or conviction if the record or conviction has been annulled.

According to prosecutors, Linehan asked Peirce to leak information about David Lovejoy’s 1989 conviction to two reporters last year when Lovejoy was running against Linehan for the sheriff’s seat. The conviction had been annulled.

Delaney, whose office had been investigating the matter since June, said he was confident that both men would have been convicted of the misdemeanor charge; the agreement ensured their immediate removal. Both men gave up their certifications as police officers, and Linehan agreed he will not seek any law enforcement position in the state again.

“This type of criminal behavior will not be condoned, especially by those members of society who are sworn to uphold the law,” Delaney said in a statement.

In a letter to county officials, Linehan said his lawyer believes the release of the information was protected by the First Amendment and that he would have been exonerated.

But he said he chose to resign because he was not aware of the law regarding the release of annulled records at the time and because fighting the charges would cripple the ability of his office to function.

“I cannot accept those consequences for the many honorable people who toil selflessly for the Sheriff’s Office or the fine people of Rockingham County merely to prove that I did not violate a statute with the requisite intent or that the statute unconstitutionally a bridges my First Amendment right to engage in free speech,” Linehan wrote in the letter, which was provided to the media by his attorney.

Linehan had served as sheriff for 13 years.

Lovejoy did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.