Virginia State Police agent placed on leave after allegedly forging payment authorization for witnesses in criminal case

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – A Virginia State Police (VSP) special agent has been placed on leave after court records show he paid a witness to testify in a Roanoke County criminal case but failed to tell attorneys.

Special Agent Steve Richardson allegedly paid a key witness thousands of dollars to testify against a man on trial for a shooting, which is why the guilty verdict was changed.

A Roanoke County judge ruled that the conviction be overturned.

The court now awaits the Commonwealth’s response while Richardson is investigated for possible criminal charges.

In September 2022, Tyler Keith Jones went on trial for shooting a man on I-81 in Roanoke County near mile marker 137. The man suffered serious injuries but survived.

Lane Thomas was formerly associated with Jones’ motorcycle gang and testified against him in court. The documents state that Thomas claimed he testified because it was “the right thing to do.”

Jones was later found guilty of wounding with intent.

After the trial concluded in March, Jones’ attorney filed a motion to set aside the jury’s verdict based on violations against Brady. At that time, there was evidence in favor of the defendant that had not been presented before the trial.

Legal expert Sheila Moheb of Moheb Legal Defense in Roanoke said this could change the outcome.

“This essentially means that the judgment was vitiated by this failure to disclose,” Moheb said.

According to payment records, Richardson paid Thomas $2,500 for his testimony and to provide confidential information, in addition to nearly $8,000 for moving and other living expenses during the trial. Richardson allegedly forged his supervisor’s signature to authorize the payments, according to the documents, and is now the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Prosecutors did not tell the defense that Thomas had received payment for his testimony against Jones and a promise of a reduced sentence in his own criminal complaint in West Virginia.

Moheb stated that this was a violation of due process.

“If there is evidence that one of their (the Commonwealth’s) witnesses is actually testifying against me for a particular reason when I am the accused, then that has an impact on whether or not I get a fundamentally fair trial.”

After a judge overturned the conviction because the defense’s ability to cross-examine Thomas during the trial was compromised, there will either be a retrial or the charges against Jones will be dropped.

“The motion to dismiss the charges would be one of the harshest penalties that could be imposed for Brady violations,” Moheb said.

After Jones’ attorney filed several motions alleging a constitutional violation, the Commonwealth agreed during the hearing to vacate the judge’s ruling.

“This is really a special case,” Moheb said. “It doesn’t happen often in the Valley, which is probably why it’s so disheartening.”

Jones is currently still in custody, although his conviction has been overturned.

His next hearing is scheduled for late August, at which time the Commonwealth is expected to respond to the defense’s motion to dismiss the charges.

As for Special Agent Richardson, he is on leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation and VSP’s internal investigation.

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