LYNCHBURG, VA – A former top official at Lynchburg Community Corrections & Pretrial Services (LCCPS) has confessed to a shocking breach of public trust, providing privileged law enforcement information to her boyfriend, then actively working to help him flee authorities. Jennifer Peters, 43, of Madison Heights, Virginia, pled guilty today in federal court to a slew of charges including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, making false statements, and destroying evidence.
According to court documents, the rot began in 2022 when Peters, then a supervisor at LCCPS, began overseeing Brendon Cole Webber. By 2023, Peters had ascended to Acting Director, directly or indirectly supervising Webber’s probation. The pair ignited a romantic relationship, and Peters leveraged her position to grant Webber unauthorized access to the Lynchburg Police Department’s Records Management System (RMS) – a protected computer containing confidential law enforcement material. Between November 11, 2023 and January 9, 2024, the pair conspired to disseminate this sensitive data to others.
The scheme unraveled further when Webber was slapped with charges for unlawfully possessing a firearm on November 30, 2023, triggering a warrant for his arrest and a manhunt by U.S. Marshals. Instead of cooperating with law enforcement, Peters became an accomplice in Webber’s flight. At his direction, she drove him from Lynchburg to Hughestown, Pennsylvania on December 19, 2023, attempting to obstruct the Marshals’ fugitive mission, even booking a hotel room along the way.
When confronted by federal investigators, Peters spun a web of lies. She claimed she hadn’t seen Webber since December, feigned ignorance of his active phone number and whereabouts, and denied any knowledge of his planned escape from Lynchburg. The deception didn’t stop there. Peters admitted to handing her cell phone off to a friend to shield it from investigators, then later dumping the device in a local landfill in a desperate attempt to destroy evidence.
Webber was finally apprehended in Hughestown, Pennsylvania on January 9, 2024. He had already pled guilty to state charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and unlawful possession of a firearm. In May, he also admitted guilt to federal charges of illegal firearm possession and two counts of conspiracy against the United States. Both Webber and Peters now await sentencing later this year.
“This case exemplifies a gross betrayal of public trust,” stated United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, C. Todd Gilbert, in a released statement. Stephen Farina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division, echoed the sentiment. The investigation was a joint effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Lynchburg Police Department, with the prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vito Iaia.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption|Cybercrime|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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