Anonymous letter backfires, spotlighting sheriff accountability in Summit County

An anonymous letter meant to undercut Summit County Deputy Eric Mainord instead pulled Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby into a criminal investigation and raised fresh questions about how political attacks intersect with law enforcement credibility.

According to court-related reporting, the episode began during a Jan. 8, 2026 conversation between Rigby and Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates in a hospital cafeteria. Rigby allegedly handed Bates an anonymous letter containing serious allegations about Mainord, who had filed his declaration of candidacy for Wasatch County sheriff just one day earlier, on Jan. 7, 2026. Investigators believe the letter was intended to weaken Mainord as a witness in the Kouri Richins murder case, not simply to criticize him as a candidate.

The stakes were higher because Mainord was not only running for sheriff. He was also one of the detectives on the Richins case, and that made any effort to attack his credibility especially consequential. Richins was convicted in March 2026 of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, with a fentanyl-laced drink. Her sentencing was scheduled for May 13, 2026.

The letter did not have the effect Rigby’s critics appear to have hoped for. Sources said Richins’ defense team received a forwarded copy, forcing the county to spend additional time and resources fighting over whether it could be used at trial. A judge ultimately ruled the letter could not be presented, shutting down the attempt to turn an anonymous document into evidence.

The Summit County Attorney’s Office is now investigating Rigby for obstruction of justice, a serious charge in a county where public confidence in sheriffs and detectives affects everyday trust in arrests, investigations and courtroom testimony. Summit County has declined to release the letter or publicly confirm the investigation, and Rigby’s attorney, Blake Hamilton, has declined substantive comment. That silence has left the facts that are known to do the work: an anonymous attack was handed to a sheriff in a hospital cafeteria, it failed under scrutiny, and it now sits at the center of a broader test of accountability.

The political backdrop matters too. Rigby, Mainord and Wasatch County Emergency Management Director Jeremy Hales were the three contenders in the 2026 Wasatch County sheriff’s race, making the episode part legal controversy and part campaign fight. In the end, the attempted takedown did not just miss its target. It highlighted how quickly rumor can be exposed when courts, prosecutors and public records are forced to answer for it.