A former McMinn County Sheriff's detective will spend two years in prison after he plead guilty to an identity theft charge.
“There are a lot of little boys and girls who dream of being police officers because they see law enforcement as people they can look up to,” said Federal Judge Curtis Collier. "When they read of Joshua Rhodes, I wonder if they will still have that same desire.”
Rhodes, 42, stood in Federal ourt after the former detective used a credit card taken from a suspect and made purchases amounting to nearly $27,000 in 2016. Rhodes was fired later that year. With attorney Gianna Maio at his side, the ex-officer expressed remorse for what he had done.
“I am beyond ashamed of my actions, and I will lose everything due to those actions,” said Rhodes. “All I can do is pray I can somehow provide for my family.”
Attorney Maio asked for Rhodes to be allowed to self-report to prison in February of next year. His wife suffers from seizures, and the attorney told the court that the $1,600 she received from disabilities would not be enough to pay for medication. Because of this, Rhodes wished for his wife to be able to use his health insurance for as long as possible before he went to prison and lost it.
The attorney also told the court that Rhodes had been working “ungodly hours” at his current job at Volkswagen in order to save up as much money as possible. Attorney Maio then said that the victim had possibly been able to reduce the charge on the credit card from $31,000 to around $18,000. She asked the judge to leave the door open in regards to altering the amount of restitution owed if this reduction in charge could be finalized.
Prosecutor Steve Neff had no qualms with either of attorney Maio’s requests. However, he did remind the court of the severity of the offense, especially when the court considered who committed the crime.
“I think that anything that erodes the public’s trust in law enforcement needs to be taken very, very seriously,” said attorney Neff. “He victimized the victim by using the credit card over and over.”
Rhodes was then sentenced to two years in federal prison. He is set to pay (at the moment) $31,000 in restitution once he leaves the TDOC, which will be paid using 10 percent of his monthly gross income. In addition, Rhodes will be on probation for the next year, and will not be allowed to make purchases on a credit card without approval from his probation officer. Because of his wife’s health, Rhodes will report to prison on Feb. 24.
“The true victim is law enforcement,” said Judge Collier. “People obey law enforcement because you are authority, and when someone who wears the badge besmirches the law, they stain that badge.”