Sheriff, chief deputy enter ‘not guilty’ pleas to charges against them
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Thursday, March 20, 2025 — Nelson County Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa and Brandon Bryan, his chief deputy, were arraigned Thursday afternoon in Nelson Circuit Court.
According to a WDRB story posted on their website, Special Prosecutor Amanda Hernandez Troutman introduced motions calling for Pineiroa and Bryan to have no contact with each other.
Both men pleaded not guilty and were permitted to continue working in their law enforcement capacities.
Special Judge Elise Spainhour warned against any kind of retaliation against other deputies, as well as any actions that could be considered to be a form of punishment against the whistleblowers.
Pineiroa’s attorney, Steve Romines, and Mike Niemietz, the attorney representing Brandon Bryan, called the charges against them unfounded and “a miscarriage of justice.”
A tentative Oct. 27, 2025 trial date was set at today’s arraignment.
The charges against the two stem from a whistleblower lawsuit filed in early February by two deputies working under Pinerioa and Bryan.
The civil lawsuit claims that Bryan allegedly arranged the sale of confiscated vehicles to private parties, violating established protocols for disposing of the vehicles. By law, the vehicles were supposed to be sold at public auction.
When the two deputies complained on the irregular sales of the vehicles, the deputies were allegedly punished by being removed from the regional drug task force, and that their overtime was restricted.
Pineiroa was indicted on charges that include abuse of public trust; theft by deception; official misconduct; and retaliating against the two deputies who filed the whistleblower lawsuit.
Bryan was indicted on the same charges, plus two additional counts of second-degree forgery.
Pineiroa was named the 2023 Sheriff of the Year by tne Kentucky Sheriff’s Association and was serving as the association’s president until he resigned following his indictment earlier this month.
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