Former Taylor County Deputy accused of faking K-9 program to obtain thousands of pills

The Taylor County Sheriff's Department confirms Brian Pickard was suspended after the sheriff noticed discrepancies in an invoice. The evidence was then turned over to Kentucky State Police, and Pickard was fired.

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A federal grand jury has indicted a former Taylor County law enforcement officer on charges that he used his agency's DEA registration to fraudulently obtain thousands of prescription painkillers over a nearly three-year span- allegedly claiming the pills were for K-9 training that never happened.

A grand jury indicted Brian Pickard earlier this month on 10 federal charges. The indictment lays out several counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, a felony under federal law, for a series of purchases dating back to April 2022.

According to the indictment, Pickard repeatedly used the Taylor County Sheriff's Office DEA registration number to buy large quantities of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone- Schedule II controlled substances- by claiming the pills were for a K-9 training program. Prosecutors allege that program was fake: the pills, according to the indictment, "were never used for training."

The purchases outlined in the charging document are substantial. Several counts describe single transactions of 100 Oxycodone pills and 1,000 Hydrocodone pills at a time, with the alleged scheme running from an April 6, 2022 purchase through an October 17, 2024 purchase- a pattern prosecutors say repeated roughly every few months for more than two years.

Taylor County Chief Deputy Josh Patrick confirmed Pickard is no longer with the department. In a statement, Patrick said Pickard was placed on administrative leave in March 2025 after Sheriff Benningfield identified discrepancies in an invoice sent to the department. Patrick said a prompt internal investigation followed, Pickard was suspended, and the case was referred to Kentucky State Police.

"Brian Pickard is no longer employed by the Taylor County Sheriff's Office," Patrick said, adding that the office is "cooperating fully with the Kentucky State Police and other federal agencies as the investigation continues," and remains "committed to transparency, fiscal integrity, and serving the community with the highest level of professionalism."

Each of the 10 federal counts carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine, along with three years of supervised release. The indictment also includes a notice of forfeiture, meaning the government is seeking to seize any property connected to the alleged scheme.

Pickard's case is being heard in the federal courthouse in Bowling Green.

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