In police chief's exit, evidence will go to U.S. prosecutor

Former Searcy Police Chief Jeremy Clark
Former Searcy Police Chief Jeremy Clark

What started a year ago as an arson investigation led to the abrupt resignation of the Searcy police chief and an array of allegations about firearms violations, abuse of power and controlled-substance infractions, a federal agent said Thursday.

The home of former Searcy Police Chief Jeremy Clark was searched Tuesday by more than a dozen agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Arkansas State Police. A warrant was also served to Searcy Mayor David Morris to search Clark's city vehicle and office.

Morris is not targeted in the investigation but was served as the custodian of city property.

As of late Thursday, Clark had not been charged with any crime.

"All of the evidence that we have obtained will be submitted to the U.S. attorney's office for possible prosecution," said Grover Crossland, head agent of the Little Rock ATF field office. "He [Clark] released to the media that a cellphone and computer had been confiscated. I can confirm that but cannot release any of the other items that were taken."

The investigation began in March 2014 when the ATF's Little Rock office was looking into a case of possible arson. The case stemmed from a home in the 400 block of Pollard Street in Bradford that Clark owned and called his grandmother's place.

Clark told reporters Wednesday that the recent search warrant involved the arson investigation. Crossland, however, said Tuesday's search had nothing to do with arson.

"As we were investigating that, we discovered evidence pertaining to violations of the federal firearms and controlled-substance laws, and abuse of power allegations," Crossland said.

Clark did not respond by Thursday afternoon to repeated messages left on his cellphone by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Crossland said he cannot comment on the specifics of the case, but added that the year-long investigation also included dozens of witness interviews.

"The city of Searcy has cooperated with the ATF throughout this entire investigation, and we were assisted by the Arkansas State Police," Crossland said. "The U.S. attorney's office has been involved since the onset, too. We go through them to obtain the search warrant. They have been on board and know what's going on. It takes a lot of probable cause to get a federal judge to hand out a search warrant."

Crossland said Clark cooperated in the search. The ATF showed up Tuesday morning at Clark's city office and advised him that a search warrant had been issued on his home.

"We asked him if he wanted to come to the residence with us to gain easier access. He agreed," Crossland said. "There wasn't a dynamic entry. The search was very professional and low-keyed."

The evidence collected from the search and the investigation are "very strong," Crossland said.

"When we send a case to the U.S. attorney. We feel we have enough evidence for prosecution," he said. "Generally, once we get to this point in any investigation, we're done."

Telephone messages left with the U.S. attorney's office were not immediately returned Thursday. Online records show that a search warrant was issued on Monday, a day before the search of Clark's residence. The record is sealed and does not include any identifying information.

In a handwritten letter Tuesday afternoon, Clark said he was "reluctantly" resigning because of the possible embarrassment to the Searcy Police Department.

Clark apologized in the letter to everyone who has been "affected by this fruitless investigation into my life."

In a Tuesday afternoon news conference, Morris announced that he had appointed 27-year Searcy police veteran Eric Webb as the interim chief.

Telephone messages left Thursday for Morris were not immediately returned.

Clark, 35, was appointed by Morris in 2013 as the police chief in Searcy. He began his law-enforcement career at 19 as a deputy in the detention center of the White County sheriff's office. After serving on the Stuttgart police force, he joined Searcy's force in 2001 and worked as a patrolman, then an investigator.

He left the Searcy Police Department in 2006 when White County Sheriff Ricky Shourd appointed Clark as his chief deputy. He served in that position for six years before assuming the Searcy police chief role.

State Desk on 03/06/2015

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