Fired OK County Jail detention officer facing more charges

OKLAHOMA CITY — A staff sergeant with the Oklahoma County Detention Center who was arrested on an embezzlement complaint has confessed to that crime and now several others.

Former SSgt. Euitt Sharp, a detention officer at the jail, was arrested on a complaint of embezzling $549 from a detainee who was booked into the Jail in September.

He has been fired from his position. He was first hired in 2014 when the Oklahoma County Sheriff was still in charge of the Jail.

Sharp
Euitt Sharp booking photo from Sept. 2024. (provided by the OCDC.)

The investigation began when the detainee was released and in the process, the money could not be located, according to Mark Opgrande, spokesperson for the Jail.

Money that is a part of an arrestee’s property logged at the time of booking is supposed to be kept in a trust fund and returned to the detainee along with other property when the detainee is released.

In the arrest affidavit, the investigator wrote, “Euitt Sharp confessed to taking the money out of the facility and deposited it into his personal bank account.”

Sharp was arrested and booked on a complaint of embezzlement and later released on a $3,000 bond.

During the investigation, Sharp confessed to taking cash from other detainees in the booking process collecting over $2,000.

Facing more complaints

In a phone call with Free Press on Monday, Opgrande said that since Euitt has told them about other such situations where he has taken money from detainees, their investigators are still collecting evidence.

Once they conclude their investigation of any other crimes then they will book Euitt for those and turn over their complete investigation to the office of Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna.

However, they are still in the process of the investigation, Opgrande told us.

‘Deeply disappointed’

“We are deeply disappointed by the actions of this individual, as they do not reflect the values or standards of the Oklahoma County Detention Center,” said Brandi Garner, CEO of the Oklahoma County Detention Center.

“In recent months, we have taken steps to enhance and expand our Criminal Investigations Division to swiftly respond, identify, and address any illegal activities inside the jail. By investing in the strength and expertise of this division, we are reinforcing our dedication to maintaining a safe, secure, and accountable environment for everyone in our care.”

Garner took over as the new CEO of the Oklahoma County Detention Center in May 2023 after the previous CEO resigned as he faced being fired. Garner is the second CEO of the Jail under the authority of the Oklahoma County Jail Trust. Throughout the rest of the history of the Jail, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office was the administrative authority.


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Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.