A Lancaster County television station has reported that Lebanon County’s chief detective Jonathan C. Hess was suspended for driving under the influence of alcohol charges that were filed against him in October.
Repeated requests to Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf, Hess’s boss, to comment on the WGAL report have gone unanswered. The two are not related.
After he waived his preliminary hearing in court in late November, WGAL Channel 8 reported, without citing a source, that Hess had been suspended as a result of his Oct. 5 DUI arrest in Manheim.
Police and prosecutors allege that his blood alcohol content was 0.219 percent, which is above Pennsylvania’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Hess has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Documents obtained through a LebTown Right-to-Know request reveal Hess had his pay docked for one week during a period in late October and early November. Hess’s payroll time sheet for the Oct. 27-Nov. 9 pay period is marked “Adj -” with an amount that corresponds to 1/52 of Hess’ annual salary.
Hess also took two days of leave during that pay period, according to the timesheet. (The timesheet denotes seven hours of leave each day on Nov. 7 and 8. Lebanon County employees are compensated for 35-hour work weeks.)
The timesheet does not indicate why the requested adjustment in salary was taken.
County controller Robert Mettley said his department was informed why the adjustment had occurred, but when asked for additional details, he said it was a personnel matter, adding that information had to be obtained via a Right-to-Know request and referred LebTown to county solicitor Matt Bugli.
Bugli handles those requests for Lebanon County government. Bugli said LebTown had already received the timesheet, so there was no need to make an additional Right-to-Know request.
Bugli noted information was redacted for two specific dates on the timesheet but not because they involved a suspension. Bugli added that he did not redact any information on the timesheet concerning a suspension for Hess.
Wolgemuth and Bugli declined to comment if Hess had been suspended.
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