The former acting director of Lynchburg Community Corrections & Pretrial Services Department (LCCPS), Jennifer Peters, has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison. The sentence follows her guilty plea to charges that include conspiracy, obstruction of a proceeding before a United States Agency, making false representations, and destruction of evidence.
According to court documents, Peters, 43, from Madison Heights, Virginia, was supervising Brendon Cole Webber as part of her duties at LCCPS in 2022. In 2023, after becoming Acting Director of the department, Peters began a romantic relationship with Webber while still involved in his probation supervision. Due to her position at LCCPS, Peters had access to confidential law enforcement materials through the Lynchburg Police Department’s Records Management System (RMS).
Between November 11, 2023 and January 9, 2024, Peters provided Webber with unauthorized access to non-public information contained in the RMS. Webber then shared this confidential material with others.
On November 30, 2023, authorities charged Webber with unlawful possession of a firearm under Virginia law and issued an arrest warrant. Both Peters and Webber were aware of the active warrant and the ongoing U.S. Marshal’s fugitive search for Webber.
Around December 19, 2023, following instructions from Webber, Peters drove him from Lynchburg to Hughestown, Pennsylvania in an effort to hinder the U.S. Marshal’s pursuit. During this trip she also booked a hotel room as directed by Webber.
When questioned by federal investigators about her involvement with Webber, Peters denied having physical contact since December and claimed not to know his whereabouts or if he had an active phone number. She also said she did not know where her own cell phone was located; however, it was later revealed that she had given it to a friend to keep it away from investigators. After being interviewed by law enforcement officials, Peters retrieved her phone and disposed of it in a local landfill in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Webber was apprehended in Hughestown on January 9, 2024.
Webber previously pleaded guilty on state charges including conspiracy to commit computer fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice as well as unlawful possession of a firearm. He received a sentence of 57 months incarceration.
“Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia,” along with “Ian Kauffman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.”
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and City of Lynchburg Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Vito Iaia is prosecuting the case.
