Sheriff submits resignation

County OKs $80,000 buyout

Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck (center), along with wife Sabrina Cradduck and attorney Drew Miller, arrives Feb. 22 for his arraignment hearing at the Benton County Courthouse on felony and misdemeanor tampering charges.
Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck (center), along with wife Sabrina Cradduck and attorney Drew Miller, arrives Feb. 22 for his arraignment hearing at the Benton County Courthouse on felony and misdemeanor tampering charges.

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck submitted his resignation Tuesday, leaving county officials scrambling to fill the office for the remainder of the year.

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Kelley Cradduck

The Benton County Quorum Court voted unanimously Tuesday to "buy out" the sheriff, approving spending $80,000 from the county's general fund reserve to cover the salaries and benefits owed to Cradduck through the end of 2016. Accepting Cradduck's resignation and declaring a vacancy in the office was also discussed but not acted on. George Spence, county attorney, said the resolution has to be published before it can be voted on. The justices of the peace agreed, unanimously, to set a special Quorum Court meeting for 5:30 p.m. Friday to approve the resolution.

What’s Next

The Benton County Quorum Court will meet at 5:30 p.m. Friday to formally accept Kelley Cradduck’s resignation as sheriff. George Spence, county attorney, said the resolution must be published before it can be voted on and requires at least eight votes from the 15 justices of the peace to be approved. The county has approved paying Cradduck’s salary and benefits through the end of 2016. The justices of the peace also set a special meeting of the Committee of the Whole for 6 p.m. April 25 to interview applicants interested in serving the remainder of Cradduck’s term in office with the April 28 Quorum Court meeting targeted for making a decision on Cradduck’s replacement.

Source: Staff Report

The justices of the peace were united in their desire to have Cradduck resign, although several questioned the payout.

"It chaps my butt that we're going to pay this man to leave when his resignation would have sufficed," Pat Adams, justice of the peace for District 6, said. "That's my personal opinion. I'm going to reluctantly support this. It's like, in the business world, buying out the chairman of the board of directors to get him to go."

Joel Jones, justice of the peace for District 7, agreed with Adams.

"I don't like rewarding the bad behavior that's happened," Jones said. "But I think this is our best course of action to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible. If the sheriff wants to resign, I will be supporting this."

In a letter from his attorney Drew Miller, Cradduck said he agrees to resign, effective immediately on acceptance by the Quorum Court, on condition the county pays the balance of what he's owed for the year. The letter gives an estimate of $79,611 due as of Monday. The amount would decrease by about $300 per day for the time it takes the county to appoint a replacement and have that person sworn in.

Cradduck also agrees in the time between the acceptance of his resignation and the appointment of his replacement he will take no actions as sheriff, leaving Chief Deputy Richie Conner to manage the Sheriff's Office and exercise the authority of the sheriff, according to the letter.

Spence said in an email the Quorum Court has the authority to name someone to serve out the remainder of Cradduck's term in office. The Quorum Court, in replacing other county officials in the past, has asked interested parties to submit letters and come before the Quorum Court, but there is no requirement for doing so, Spence said.

Nathan Atchison, a former major at the Sheriff's Office, spoke in favor of the justices approving Cradduck's resignation. Atchison said he wanted to put the focus on the employees who have faced difficult times at the Sheriff's Office for the last 18 months.

Atchison said he's considering putting in his name as a possible replacement for Cradduck, but Atchison said that's a decision he and his wife will have to reach together.

Cradduck's term expires at the end of the year. He was defeated in the Republican primary election in March.

Shawn Holloway, who until recently was a major at the Sheriff's Office, won the Republican Party's nomination and will face Glenn Latham, an independent candidate, for the sheriff's position in the November election.

"The events have been sad for the entire Sheriff's Office, but the resignation is probably what's best for the sheriff and his family and the county and Sheriff's Office," Holloway said.

Holloway said he has faith the Quorum Court will select the right person to lead the Sheriff's Office the rest of the year.

Latham said he supports the nearly $80,000 payment to bring closure to Cradduck's time at the Sheriff's Office. The employees can continue to work at the Sheriff's Office without distractions involving Cradduck, Latham said.

Cradduck faces 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. He 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.

Jason Barrett, the special prosecutor assigned to Cradduck's criminal case, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Nathan Smith, Benton County's prosecutor, said he hopes Cradduck's resignation will bring some peace and stability to the Sheriff's Office.

"I look forward to working with the next sheriff and the fine deputies at the Benton County Sheriff's Office as we move forward," Smith said.

NW News on 04/13/2016

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