Federal Judge Turns Down Request By Frederick County Sheriff Jenkins To Dismiss His Indictment

But she  delayed a decision on making public grand jury minutes

Baltimore, Md (KM) A federal judge has turned down a request Thursday from Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins to dismiss the indictment against him. But US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher said she would wait on further arguments on whether to dismiss the individual counts against the Sheriff.

Jenkins and local businessman Robert Krop were indicted in April for conspiracy and making false statements to illegally obtain machine guns.  Both men have pleaded not guilty.

Also on Thursday, Judge Gallagher said she would delay a decision on whether to review and release the grand jury testimony that led to indictments against Jenkins and Krop. In August, Jenkins asked that the grand jury minutes and testimony be made public, claiming that prosecutors made inconsistent and misleading comments.

Grand jury minutes are usually kept secret, and it’s very rare that they’re ever made public.

By Kevin McManus