YOUNGSTOWN A former Mahoning County sheriff's deputy was sentenced to three years of probation on Tuesday for a federal crime of concealing information about another person's crime.

Kip Danks, who had also served with the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent in the U.S. District Court.

Danks was charged with misprision of a felony, which means he knew a felony had been committed and concealed that information, rather than reporting it. He pleaded guilty to the single count of the Information on July 29.

The charge against Danks stemmed from an incident in January 2023. Court records show that Danks was aware that a convicted felon, identified as Hure Orr, was prohibited from having a firearm. Orr was reportedly part of a drug organization in the Youngstown area.

Investigators using a court-authorized wiretap heard a phone call between Danks and Orr. During that conversation, Orr reportedly told Danks that investigators had found a firearm during a search.

Instead of reporting the information, the court records state Danks advised Orr on how to give false information to investigators to avoid charges related to the weapon. Danks is also alleged to have told Orr, "Just don't use the phones," which investigators believed was an attempt to stop law enforcement from getting more evidence.

Danks had over two decades of experience in law enforcement at the time.

Orr was sentenced in January 2025 to four and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.

During the sentencing, the court required Danks to pay a special assessment of $100.