Former NH Sheriff Mark Brave Sentenced to 3 and Half to 7 Years for Perjury in County Funds Theft Case

Mark Brave, New Hampshire sheriff who resigned after he was accused of stealing $19,000 in county funds was sentenced Monday to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison on perjury charges. His lawyer, Leif Becker, had asked that the judge accept a proposed sentence of no prison time “in mercy,” noting that Brave didn’t have a prior criminal history and has accepted responsibility for his crimes. Brave, 39, was elected as Strafford County sheriff in 2020. At the time, he was both the youngest sheriff and the first black man to serve as a sheriff in the state. He was arrested in 2023 and charged with eight felonies following an investigation into accusations that he misused county credit cards. Brave called the arrest a political attack and said he did nothing wrong and would fight the charges. Brave pleaded guilty to four charges in February as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors: two counts of perjury, theft, and falsifying physical evidence. The agreement called for suspended sentences on the theft and physical evdience charges provided he met conditions such as paying back the county and not seek employment as a law enforcement officer in any jurisdiction.