County Manager's Attempt at a Cover-Up Exposed

While Washoe County has removed former Chief Justin Roper from their website and had a placeholder added with TBA. Seems like the crack team at Washoe County isn’t able to go into their website and actually get Roper removed. Call us we can help.

Please read to the bottom of this article and look at the complaint filed by criminal attorney Theresa Ristenpart. You’ll want to note the troubling information about Sober 24 and their testing methods “Including Forcing Pretrial Client to Strip Search Before Testing” - say what? Was County Manager Eric Brown and his staff aware this was taking place at Sober 24?

Has County Manager Eric Brown suddenly morphed into a legal expert, "warning" commissioners to keep quiet about the Justin Roper investigation. His excuse? Speaking might "risk of possibly interfering" with the law enforcement investigation or is it an "HR matter." Keep up Eric, choose one.

County Manager Eric Brown’s “confidential” email regarding Justin Roper and Sober 24 on Monday, March 3, 2025. All five of the commissioners were at the NACo Conference in Washington DC on Monday.

If this were legitimate, why didn't the warning come directly from one of the two District Attorney employees copied on the email? Why wasn't it labeled "Attorney-Client" privilege? Why didn't HR Director Patricia Hurley—also copied—send it? Because this isn't about protocol—it's about Brown's desperate cover-up attempt.

Clearing Washoe County Government is scrambling. Do better Washoe County taxpayers are paying high salaries and deserve better than this. How about showing some skills.

Newsflash, Eric: When FBI agents spend four hours serving warrants and hauling away boxes of evidence, the investigation is well beyond risky. They've already got what they need, the records they seized were just the icing on the cake.

Brown's real agenda? Damage control. Roper worked closely with Brown's direct reports and court employees under county payroll. Plus, let’s remember how Brown’s Commission Chair Alexis Hill simply gushed over the program and the work Roper did. The Sober 24 program clearly spiraled out of Brown's control, and now he's scrambling to bury the facts.

Commissioner Mike Clark blew the whistle on Facebook yesterday:

"Thanks to This Is Reno for publishing this article about Sober 24. People were showing up Monday and Tuesday for drug screening only to be turned away. They took time off work, hired Ubers, took buses, walked miles—and Washoe County Government didn't think they deserved a heads-up? People wasted time and money only to be rejected at the door. That's why I shared this email with the press, and I'd do it again. I represent the residents of Washoe County, not Eric Brown. Residents clearly don't matter to the County Manager and his team."

But wait—it gets worse. Criminal attorney Theresa Ristenpart has filed in Sparks Justice Court to exempt her client from Sober 24 screening requirements. How many more attorneys will follow suit? The house of cards is collapsing, and Brown's attempted cover-up is crumbling before our eyes.

Criminal Attorney Theresa Ristenpart filing in Sparks Justice Court on March 5, 2025. We redacted name and case number you can maneuver the justice court site to find.