Tucker County Commissioners Charged With "Unauthorized Expenditure"

All three Tucker County commissioners were charged Thursday with “unauthorized expenditure by local official.” The charges, which carry penalties of up to a year in jail and a $500 fine, stem from a $3,991 purchase of a crossbow and other items by Commissioner Fred Davis in August of 2025.

The charging documents filed by a special prosecutor allege that Davis bought the items using the county’s “Sheriff’s Incentive Program,” which allows sheriff’s deputies to purchase personal items “consistent with law enforcement” and then reimburse the county for those items later.

The documents allege that Davis used the program to buy personal items five times since 2020, with the amounts being reimbursed in installments via deductions from his county paycheck. However, he was charged only in connection with the most recent purchase in 2025.

All three commissioners — Davis, Tim Knotts, and Commission President Mike Rosenau — were charged because they all allegedly approved the disbursement.

Circuit Judges Steven L. Shaffer and Hilary M. Bright, who typically hear cases in Tucker County, recused themselves. The three commissioners are expect to make their initial court appearances August 18 in front of Circuit Judge H. Charles Carl, III, who typically hears cases in Hampshire, Hardy, and Pendleton Counties.

The Sheriff’s Incentive Program was established in 2019 to help recruit sheriff’s deputies. The borrowers do not have to pay interest to the county under the program.

The charging documents say the Sheriff’s Incentive Program was not lawful because “providing interest-free loans to county employees with taxpayer dollars is not an authorized use of public funds even if the program was originally adopted with good intentions.” However, the charging documents add that the purchases “were not only on their face unauthorized, but were not even for the stated purposes of the Sheriff’s Incentive Program, thus there can be no doubt that the expenditures were unlawful and unauthorized and not made in good faith.”'

Preston County Prosecutor James Shay Jr. was assigned to the case after Tucker County prosecutors recused themselves. Shay said the expenditures were initially flagged by the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office, which presented information about the case to the Tucker County prosecutor’s office in June.

The documents filed by Shay allege that the funds Davis borrowed from the county in 2025 were used to purchase a $1,649 crossbow, a case, other crossbow accessories, and $1,578 in “misc. ammunition bulk rounds” in a variety of calibers for firearms. The purchases were made at Backbone Mt. Sports Shop in Oakland, Maryland.

In a brief telephone interview, Davis said, “I’m very upset. When I calm down, I’ll be able to talk to you.” He added, “I tell you one thing; I never stole anything, and I ain’t happy.” He declined to comment further.

Rosenau declined to comment. Knotts did not return a call seeking comment.

Davis appeared to signal knowledge of the inquiry at a commission meeting July 22. “Someone was asking, questioning me, about what I do with money, how we do money or whatever, and it kind of aggravated me when they were questioning me about things.” He didn’t specify who raised those questions.

Davis then recited a long list of services and programs that get money from the county. “People ask, we try to help out,” he said, adding, “we try to do right with the money.”

Earlier at that same meeting, Rosenau noted that all three commissioners sign off on every county expenditure, “I mean every gas bill, every electric bill, everything has to be signed off by all three of us.”

The Tucker County Commission created the Sheriff’s Incentive Program in 2019. All three commissioners in office at that time — Davis, Patrick Darling, and Lowell Moore — voted for the program. It’s unclear whether the program is still in place.

Davis Mayor Al Tomson said he was shocked by the allegations. “Serving in government is a public trust,” Tomson said in a statement. “While I recognize that these three individuals have only been charged and are presumed innocent unless proven guilty, one principle is clear: public funds must never be used as a personal source of borrowing or for private purposes. Even the appearance of such conduct undermines public confidence.”

Jon Bush, who is running against Rosenau in this November’s elections, said he would not comment until he learned more about the situation.

Mat Cloak contributed to this story.