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A private investigator’s open-records complaint has sparked what the Attorney General’s Office is calling a review of the Curry County Sheriff’s Office, the Clovis News Journal reported.
J. Paul Crowe of TAP Investigations in Clovis accused sheriff’s investigator Sandy Loomis of violating the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act, and AG’s Office spokesman Phil Sisneros confirmed that his office is looking into the complaint, the News Journal said.
Crowe alleged that he asked in writing for a criminal file associated with a felony sex crime case he was investigating for the state Public Defender’s Office and was told twice by a sheriff’s clerk that the case was being handled by Clovis city police, the paper reported.
After being referred to different agencies for about a week, Crowe said he returned to the sheriff’s office with proof that the sheriff’s office had handled the investigation, according to the News Journal.
Crowe said he was told by Loomis “There’s no way you’re getting any of that,” the News Journal said.
“I can find no statutory basis that would prevent release of the requested records on the 2003 case, which has been completely adjudicated,” Crowe said in his complaint.
County Attorney Steve Doerr declined comment, saying he hadn’t seen the complaint, which was dated March 8, the paper reported.
