Two Monroe County Sheriff’s Office employees are facing criminal charges after state investigators say a trusty inmate was pulled from official county work and put to labor for free at a privately owned watercraft repair business in Madisonville. A grand jury has accused the pair of official misconduct and unlawful use of inmates, alleging the man was driven off his assigned posts and put to work on jobs that had nothing to do with county property. The case stems from an investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office with help from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
As first reported by WATE 6 On Your Side, the grand jury filings name Neal Alan Townsend, who served as the department’s fleet manager, and Jamey “Lee” Frank, a part-time garage mechanic who had previously worked as a trusty while incarcerated. According to WATE, investigators reviewed video that appears to show Frank and Townsend working alongside the trusty inmate at a private marina, where the inmate is seen helping with boats and equipment. Prosecutors also say the inmate operated county vehicles without proper supervision and that Frank had not completed the required training to oversee inmates.
What Investigators Found
Per a report by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, the trusty inmate was officially assigned to the maintenance garage and county airport. Instead, investigators say he was picked up from his assigned post and taken to a privately owned watercraft repair business. Video cited in the report shows the inmate and county employees lifting a sunken boat and working on equipment that, the Comptroller notes, did not belong to Monroe County.
The same report says the inmate operated two vehicles without supervision while at the private site and was seen using tobacco there, which appears to violate the jail’s contraband rules. On top of the alleged off-the-books labor, investigators flagged basic control issues: the sheriff’s office had no documented process to track trusty inmate movements and no clear system for assigning or managing take-home vehicles.
Charges And Timeline
According to WATE 6 On Your Side, a Monroe County grand jury indicted Jamey Lee Frank on April 1, 2026, on one count of official misconduct and one count of unlawful use of inmates. A little over a month later, on May 6, 2026, the same grand jury indicted Neal Alan Townsend on the same two counts. Those charges are based on the Comptroller’s investigation and the accompanying video exhibits gathered during the probe.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation assisted in reviewing the case, and the Comptroller’s Office forwarded its findings to prosecutors in the 10th Judicial District. From here, it is up to those prosecutors to decide how aggressively to press the case.
Internal Controls And Next Steps
In its investigative report, the Comptroller’s Office did not just focus on the inmate’s alleged side trips. It also zeroed in on how the sheriff’s department runs the basics. The report states that "the department did not have a documented process for vehicle assignments or acceptable vehicle use," and it notes there were no clear written procedures for tracking trusty inmate movement or assigning and revoking keycard access.
Those findings, along with the related video exhibits, are now in the hands of 10th Judicial District prosecutors as they weigh whether to seek additional charges or move the existing counts toward trial. Any policy clean-up inside the sheriff’s office will be running in parallel with whatever happens in court.
Legal Implications
The indictments accuse Townsend and Frank of official misconduct and unlawful use of inmates, citing state law that limits inmate labor to government work. These are criminal charges, not findings of guilt, and the courts in Monroe County will decide what, if anything, the two men are ultimately responsible for.
For now, the indictments and the Comptroller’s investigative report sit in the public file while the 10th Judicial District reviews the evidence and plots the legal path forward. Townsend and Frank remain accused, not convicted, and it will be up to a judge or jury to determine the final outcome.
