KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The former chief of staff for Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single count of official misconduct related to his months-long personal use of a county-owned golf cart.
Bryan Hair, 38, is asking Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green for judicial diversion, which would give him a chance to wipe the case away from the record if he avoids getting in trouble with the law while serving his sentence.
That's a decision purely up to Green. Knox County prosecutors oppose the request. Diversion is typically reserved for first-time offenders convicted of low-level felonies.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 17, according to the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's Office.
Hair appeared Wednesday before Green with defense attorney John Valliant to enter the plea.
Official misconduct is the lowest level felony in the state, with a punishment range of one to two years. The recommended term in Hair's case would be a year, records show.
Hair also must pay $950 in restitution as well as court costs.
The state Comptroller's Office investigated and found that Hair used a county-owned golf cart at his home May-October 2020. Employees are barred from private use of public property.
Hair told WBIR afterward he'd taken the cart for use by his wife, who needed temporary help getting around because of a foot injury.
The county parks department bought the cart in May 2020 for $3,700.
Hair resigned as Jacobs' chief of staff in October 2020.
"The recent incident involving a golf cart has been disruptive to the mayors office, your life and county government. I apologize for this," Bryan Hair wrote in a resignation note.
Hair had been with Jacobs since his first mayoral campaign in 2018. He made $170,000 a year a chief of staff.
