Federal judge orders update of investigation in case against Jenkins

Federal prosecutors have been ordered to provide a status update on the case against local gun range owner Robert Krop, an alleged accomplice of Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, after a jury acquitted him last week.

Jenkins, who was first indicted along with Krop in April 2023, is charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of making false statements to interfere with government functions and violate federal law regulating machine guns. He denied the government’s allegations.

Early in the trial against Krop and Jenkins, a federal judge ordered the two men to be tried separately to avoid harm to either of them.

The trial against Krop began on October 15 and ended on October 22, when a jury found him not guilty on three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy to interfere with government functions and violate federal law regulating machine guns. count of illegal possession of a machine gun.

Jenkins’ trial is scheduled to last seven days, beginning January 27, 2025.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ordered the federal government to provide a status update on the case against Jenkins by Nov. 12.

Also Monday, Gallagher agreed to a request from Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham to recuse himself from the case against Jenkins.

Cunningham previously represented the federal government in the lawsuit against Krop. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Goo, who also worked on the Krop case, was still listed as the lead attorney on the case against Jenkins as of Wednesday.

In an email sent Wednesday, Angelina Thompson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, declined to comment on Cunningham’s withdrawal from the case against Jenkins beyond what is in public records.