Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Oregon Department of Justice is giving the Jefferson County Sheriff until Monday, January 11, to either resign or face indictment.

Sheriff Jack Jones is accused of official misconduct and coercion during an October 23rd domestic violence incident at the home of his 25-year-old son.

His son was later arrested and taken into custody for psychiatric evaluation.

Tony Green is a spokesman for the Justice Department.

Tony Green: “I cannot provide any sort of details about the sheriff’s conduct other than to say that it is our feeling that the evidence would support a charge, and we feel it would be in the best interest of the public and the victims in this case to resolve it short of a trial.”

The Sheriff could avoid a trial by accepting a lesser conviction of official misconduct and relinquishing his badge.

Otherwise, the case will be presented to a grand jury on January 13.