Fired Middlesex lawman expected to serve six months behind bars after pleading guilty to lesser charge
by Tom Chillemi –
Former Middlesex County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Franklin Smith Jr. of Locust Hill was sentenced on May 18 to two years in jail with one year and six months suspended for five years after he pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge of a detained person by a law-enforcement officer. He is reportedly receiving credit for the 28 days he was held before making bail, so his likely effective additional time behind bars is less than six months.
Middlesex Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Shaw’s sentencing order also placed conditions on the suspended sentence: Smith must be of good behavior for five years after being released from incarceration, he will be on probation for five years or until sooner released by the court. He must undergo substance-abuse screening and assessment and complete any substance-abuse treatment education program or services as directed by the probation officer while on supervised probation the defendant must remain drug and alcohol free and must not use or possess marijuana or any of its derivatives or oils.
Smith is to have no contact, direct or indirect, with the victim. He must pay court costs and provide a DNA sample and fingerprints as directed. He must not seek or accept any employment in law enforcement or security fields where he is a sworn officer, or carries a badge or a firearm. Work release is authorized as determined by the sheriff or jail administrator. Smith was given credit for time served.
Plea
According to court records, Smith, 33, had been charged with two counts of forcible rape.
However, he entered into a plea agreement in which one of the rape charges was amended to the lesser felony of carnal knowledge of a detained person; and the other rape charge is nolle prosequi (not prosecuted).
According to court records, the offense occurred on April 30, 2020. Smith was indicted by a Middlesex Grand Jury on March 23, 2021. Smith was granted bail on April 21, 2021, and he remained free following his guilty plea.
His employment was terminated, court records indicate.
The case was investigated by Virginia State Police agents who used DNA in the investigation.
Special prosecutor
The case was prosecuted by T. Marie Walls, chief deputy commonwealth attorney for Gloucester County. During the sentencing hearing on May 18, Walls told the court, Smith had given the victim a ride to her home after the driver of a vehicle she had been a passenger in was arrested.
Smith was represented by attorney Anna R. Lindemann of Richmond. During the sentencing hearing, Lindemann played two recorded conversations of phone calls made by the victim to the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office following the crime. In one call the victim left a message to have Smith call her.
Middlesex Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Hurd told the Sentinel earlier that he recused himself from prosecuting Smith, immediately after he was charged, in part because Smith was technically still a deputy and there was the appearance of impropriety.
