A burner phone, a fake Facebook profile and a campaign for sheriff

Then-Sgt. Brad Pope was investigated for allegedly using a fake Facebook profile to leak confidential case information during his campaign for Lyon County sheriff last year.

The criminal investigation came to light this month when the Nevada Department of Public Safety released documents in response to a Public Records Act request.

Though Pope’s name does not appear in the redacted documents, they reveal that he was investigated after a burner phone was used to open a Facebook account under the name “Hank Tyme” and after a fake profile page was created for the account.

Three weeks after Pope announced his candidacy for sheriff in March 2022, posts by “Hank Tyme” began attacking then-Sheriff Frank Hunewill’s handling of the Naomi Irion murder case, which was the subject of intense public interest in Northern Nevada and nationwide.

In August 2022, “Hank Tyme” posted graphic, confidential details on Facebook about a suicide attempt by Troy Driver, who was being held in the Lyon County jail on charges of abducting and murdering Irion.

Ten weeks later, Pope won the election by 968 votes, a margin of 4.5 percent.

Pope did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations that he used a fake Facebook profile to leak the confidential case information.

But Hunewill confirmed that Pope was the subject of the “Hank Tyme” investigation. The newly released documents also state that the subject of the investigation “was elected as the new sheriff of Lyon County.”

In January, the Department of Public Safety closed the “Hank Tyme” case after being advised by the state attorney general’s office that there were “no relevant charges that could be identified.”

After reviewing the Department of Public Safety report, Michael Roberson, an election law attorney in Las Vegas and former majority leader of the Nevada Senate, said “it doesn’t appear from the report that there were any criminal violations.”

However, Roberson said the report “raises ethical questions and is certainly something that the voters of Lyon County would want to know.”

A Facebook troll named ‘Hank Tyme’

Pope announced his candidacy for Lyon County sheriff on March 9, 2022.

On April 1, Facebook posts by “Hank Tyme” accused then-Sheriff Hunewill of brushing off a complaint about a sheriff’s deputy who initially refused to file a missing person report after Irion vanished.

“The Sheriff didn’t even follow the complaint procedure,” said one of the posts. “He just made it go away! The current Sheriff needs to go!!!!!”

“Hank Tyme” also sent a series of private Facebook messages to Irion’s stepbrother, Casey Valley.

“I work there but I can’t release my identity…. Ask for a statement from the Sheriff on the outcome of your complaint… Everything always gets swept under the rug with this guy… Going public may work. But I think he’s to stupid to care.”

In a recent telephone interview, Hunewill responded to the allegation that he failed to follow procedure when handling the complaint against the sheriff’s deputy.

“When you start an internal investigation, everybody’s not allowed to know everything,” the former sheriff said. “An employee has rights. There’s a process that we have to follow, and we followed that process.”

In July 2022, “Hank Tyme” commented on a “Hunewill for Sheriff” post by disparaging the incumbent’s record:

“Maybe the calls for service are down because you and everyone else has been telling people there’s nothing we can do. You sir are so dishonest!”

In August 2022, “Hank Tyme” posted graphic, nonpublic information about Driver’s attempted suicide and accused Hunewill of trying to hide the information because “he doesn’t want it to look bad on his jail.”

“They won’t release this because the Sheriff won’t let them,” the post read. “I work here. I know. The Sheriff is a joke.”

“Hank Tyme” also sent a private message to KRNV-TV in Reno repeating the graphic information about Driver’s suicide attempt and alleging that Hunewill was “covering it up because he has nothing else to run on other than the jail and we’ve had several suicide attempts from hanging lately.”

But Hunewill insists he was obeying the law, not engaging in a cover-up.

“An inmate has privacy rights in health-related information, including behavioral health,” he said. “You can’t release it.”

A year later, when Pope was in charge of managing the Lyon County jail, Driver died by suicide in his cell.

Cellphone data links Pope to ‘Hank Tyme’

The “Hank Tyme” Facebook profile featured a photo of a youthful, cleanshaven man wearing a jacket and button-down shirt.

Earlier this year, a Google image search by a reporter revealed that the man in the photo is a Maryland attorney. The attorney confirmed that he is not “Hank Tyme” and did not authorize the use of his likeness from the Facebook profile.

The Department of Public Safety report includes a similar finding:

“The male subject depicted in the photograph was in fact a lawyer from Fredrick, Maryland and had no association to the posting,” it states.

The report shows that in 2022, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office connected the fake “Hank Tyme” profile to Pope by using cellphone data.

According to the report, the Sheriff’s Office served Facebook with a search warrant and obtained a phone number associated with the “Hank Tyme” account.

Because the phone was a prepaid “burner” cellphone, the Sheriff’s Office could not tie it to an identifiable subscriber, Hunewill said.

However, the report shows that a search warrant served on T-Mobile, the cellphone carrier, yielded ping data that enabled the Sheriff’s Office to map a “pattern of life” for the phone.

This led the Sheriff’s Office to conclude “with a great deal of certainty” that the cellphone and Facebook profile were associated with Pope, according to the report.

After election, case closed

In October 2022, Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye asked the Nevada Department of Public Safety to take over the “Hank Tyme” case.

The department decided to hold off further investigation until after the Nov. 8 election.

After the election results were certified, Department of Public Safety officials met with representatives from the office of Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford.

“It was later concluded that no relevant charges could be further investigated and thus the case should be closed,” the department’s report states.

The report does not discuss any ethical concerns related to Pope’s alleged conduct.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org.