LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR) – On November 20, the US Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Virginia announced the indictment of the former Acting Director of Lynchburg Community Corrections and Pretrial Services of conspiracy and assisting a parolee in numerous illegal activities.
42-year-old Jennifer Leigh Peters, 42, of Madison Heights was charged with conspiracy against the US, accessing a protected computer without authorization, obstruction of a proceeding before a US Agency, destruction of evidence, and making false representations to an agency of the US.
27-year-old Brendon Cole Webber of Lynchburg has also been charged with two counts of conspiracy against the US and four counts of accessing a protected computer without authorization.
Court records show that as a Lynchburg Community Corrections and Pretrial Services (LCCPS) employee, Peters supervised probation for pre- and post-trial criminal defendants charged in Lynchburg General District Court and in 2023, became the Acting Director.
In 2022, Webber was on probation and occasionally supervised by Peters directly. According to US Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, a romantic relationship developed between Peters and Webber sometime in 2023. Peters did not report this relationship to her employer.
The indictment filed on Wednesday accuses Peter’s and Webber of accessing the Lynchburg Police Department’s Records Management System (RMS) to search for and review non-public, law enforcement records related to himself and his associates and then distributing the information to others in November 2023.
Peters is also accused of making entries in Webber’s official probation case file indicating that he falsely completed certain probation milestones. She then instructed a subordinate to sign a letter terminating Webber’s probation that was sent to the Lynchburg General District Court.
On November 29, 2023, Lynchburg FD then responded to an overdose call at the Lynchburg Grand Hotel to find a man, later identified as Webber, lying face down in a hotel room bathroom. When Lynchburg PD arrived on the scene, Webber allegedly fled the scene, before being arrested. According to court records, drug paraphernalia, a bag with suspected methamphetamine, and a loaded Glock 38 handgun, were allegedly found the in the room.
Court records state that after the events at the Lynchburg Grand Hotel, Peters allegedly gave false statements to a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and then allegedly helped Webber flee Lynchburg by driving him out of state. During questioning, Peters allegedly gave more false statements to law enforcement about her relationship with Webber and her knowledge of his whereabouts.
WFXR News will continue to update you with more information as it becomes available.