SAN ANTONIO – A veteran Bexar County sheriff’s deputy fired last month for “inciting violence” with an offensive Facebook post was previously suspended from the agency but kept his job after interfering with a felony fraud case against his then-wife, personnel records confirm.
Deputy Jack “Jackie” Farmer was terminated in mid-September, months after posting on Facebook that people should “lynch mob” a suspect accused of stealing people’s mail.
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Farmer admitted to making the post, according to an order of dismissal included in his personnel file.
Interfered with criminal case against wife
In April 2012, Farmer was suspended after an internal affairs investigation determined the deputy interfered in a felony credit card fraud case against his then-wife.
The woman, identified in Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and court records as Alisha Farmer, was accused months earlier of making fraudulent charges on two credit cards belonging to an elderly couple she was supposed to be caring for.
Alisha Farmer was also accused of stealing jewelry and cash from the elderly couple, BCSO records show.
Jack Farmer, Alisha’s then-husband, showed up at the home of a family member of the couple in full uniform and asked if he could pay back money in exchange for criminal charges not being filed, BCSO records show.
Jack Farmer also failed to notify the law enforcement agency investigating the case, the San Antonio Police Department, that he had information about the criminal offenses, according to records.
“Your attempt to influence the elderly complainants to not file criminal charges in lieu of restitution, while in full uniform, was unprofessional and brought discredit (to) the Sheriff’s Office,” suspension records for Jack Farmer state.
Jack Farmer was suspended five days for the incident, but after filing a grievance, his punishment was reduced to a three-day suspension, personnel records confirm.
Alisha Farmer was indicted by a Bexar County grand jury in May 2012 and charged with two counts of credit card abuse of the elderly, District Court records show.
Alisha Farmer was given two years probation in the case in March 2013, but was re-arrested at least three times for various violations and later had her probation extended in early 2017, court records show.
Records confirm Alisha Farmer faced a separate theft charge in May 2014 and was later able to get it dismissed after being given deferred adjudication.
The couple filed for divorce in July 2014 and it was finalized in early 2015, court records show.
Sheriff Javier Salazar did not respond to a request for an interview for this story.
“I wasn’t the Sheriff then.”
Jack Farmer is the second BCSO deputy in recent weeks whose personnel file raises questions about whether they should have remained with the agency following previous discipline problems.
Deputy John A. Rodriguez, who shot and killed veteran Damian Daniels during a mental health call to Daniels' home in August, kept his job after being criminally charged with family violence in 2013.
According to suspension paperwork, Rodriguez admitted to throwing an iPad in the direction of his wife as well as breaking two coffee tables and a television set.
Months after his arrest, prosecutors dismissed the charge at the request of the complainant, records show.
Rodriguez was then suspended for three days for conduct unbecoming an officer, according to his suspension paperwork.
Asked about Rodriguez during the daily COVID-19 briefing Sept. 18, Salazar said, “I can’t tell you what happened in 2013. I wasn’t the sheriff then. What I can tell you is the way we treat arrests of deputies, whether they’re convicted or not, the way we treat them now is vastly different than the way they were treated under different administrations. So I can’t really tell you why he was brought back.”
Rodriguez was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a grand jury in 2011, a little over a year after shooting and killing a man, records show.