Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck submitted his resignation Tuesday contingent on the Benton County Quorum Court meeting several conditions, including a lump sum payment for the remainder of his 2016 pay, according to a letter from his attorney.
A resolution accepting Cradduck’s resignation was prepared for the county’s justices of the peace to discuss at a special Quorum Court meeting tonight after the regularly scheduled Committee of the Whole meeting.
An ordinance appropriating $80,000 to pay out the balance of Cradduck’s salary and benefits for 2016 also was ready for the justices of the peace to consider.
The justices of the peace will not act on the resolution declaring a vacancy because state law requires it to be advertised in advance of the meeting at which it is approved, according to George Spence, county attorney.
Cradduck's term expires at the end of 2016. He was defeated in the Republican primary election by Shawn Holloway, who was until recently a major at the office.
Holloway faces independent candidate Glenn Latham in the November general election.
Cradduck is set for a three-day jury trial in September on a felony charge he tampered with a public record and a misdemeanor tampering charge.
Cradduck was arrested Jan. 19 and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The felony charge accuses Cradduck of falsifying an employee payroll request form for Gabriel Cox to reflect a start date of Sept. 28 instead of his Oct. 7 hiring date. The change in hire dates would have resulted in Cox being paid for time he didn't work, according to court documents.
The misdemeanor charge accuses Cradduck of knowing an Arkansas State Police investigation was underway and instructing his assistant, Diana Goodwin, to lie to investigators and say Cradduck never asked her to back-date the employee payroll request form.