Prosecutors are weighing potential criminal charges against a former Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputy on allegations that he gave alcohol to a minor while off duty, the district attorney said Thursday.

Kyle K. Pettit — who was previously disciplined for a separate alcohol-related incident at a Bend bar — resigned after the sheriff’s office opened an internal investigation into these allegations, a sheriff’s office spokesman said.

“Of course, that is not in line with our policy and procedures,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Wall said of the allegations.

Pettit was one of at least two sheriff’s office employees who, since July, was placed on paid administrative leave amid criminal investigations. Taken together, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has paid them at least $68,700 while they are on leave, according to county payroll data.

It’s normal for law enforcement agencies to pay their employees while they are on leave during investigations, said Wall.

“We don’t withhold pay because it could be construed or interpreted as punitive,” said Wall, who added: “Everyone’s entitled to due process.”

Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels confirmed Thursday that Oregon State Police have referred police reports from Pettit’s investigation to his office. He anticipates his office will make a decision whether to charge Pettit sometime this month.

The recommended charge, he said, was furnishing alcohol to a minor, a misdemeanor that generally carries a fine of $500.

Embattled Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputy on leave pending criminal investigation

Embattled Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputy on leave pending criminal investigation

Gunnels declined to say anything more about Pettit’s case, but previously told The Bulletin that authorities investigated crimes Pettit may have committed while off duty in the La Pine area between February and May of this year.

Pettit, who was hired by the sheriff’s office as a reserve deputy in 2016, was assigned to patrol the La Pine area in 2018, according to the sheriff’s office Facebook page. He was placed on leave on April 20 and resigned on Sept. 15.

Pettit could not be reached for comment. He has not been arrested or charged.

Wall also confirmed that the internal investigation into Pettit involved allegations that he gave alcohol to a minor. He did not know why Pettit resigned.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputy disciplined for incident at Bend bar

Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputy disciplined for incident at Bend bar

In May, Pettit was disciplined for flashing his official Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office ID after a bartender cut him off when he was drinking off-duty at the Southside Pub in Bend in June 2022.

He told her he was an on-duty deputy sheriff, disciplinary records show.

His intent was to get more alcohol, according to the records. Afterwards, a cook saw him urinating on an electrical box outside the bar’s back door.

Pettit received a one-day suspension without pay and was removed from the sheriff’s office detective unit and reassigned to the patrol division as a deputy sheriff.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s Lt. Joshua McGowan, who works at the Deschutes County jail, has been on leave since July 25, said Wall, who declined to provide further information about why.

Gunnels also declined to talk about McGowan’s case, aside from saying his office is working with Oregon State Police investigators. He said prosecutors have not yet received any police reports in his case.

Judge: former Deschutes County detective guilty in sexual image, misconduct case

Judge: former Deschutes County detective guilty in sexual image, misconduct case

The district attorney’s office won a criminal conviction against another former Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office employee this week.

Ron Brown, 59, was found guilty Wednesday of transferring sexual pictures and videos of a man and his girlfriend to his personal cellphone while investigating the man’s suicide.

A judge also ruled that Brown illegally directed the woman into his patrol car, where authorities say he was watching pornography and had an erection.

He could face a maximum of two years in jail.