Benton County begins search for interim sheriff

Patrol vehicles in front of the Benton County Sheriff's Office, June 25, 2015
Patrol vehicles in front of the Benton County Sheriff's Office, June 25, 2015

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County has received two applications for interim sheriff, even as the Quorum Court waits to finalize Sheriff Kelley Cradduck's resignation.

The Quorum Court on Tuesday night approved spending $80,000 to pay Cradduck's salary and benefits through the end of the year. A special Quorum Court meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Friday to vote to accept Cradduck's resignation and declare a vacancy. The resolution has to be published before it can be voted on, according to George Spence, county attorney. The resolution is set to be published today, and the justices of the peace elected to meet Friday to complete the process as quickly as possible.

Sheriff faces charges

Benton County Sheriff Kelley 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.

Source: Staff report

Cradduck, in a letter from his attorney Drew Miller, said he agrees to resign, effective immediately, on acceptance by the Quorum Court on the 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.

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 justices of the peace agreed to ask interested candidates to send letters or resumes to the Benton County Clerk's Office before noon April 22. A special meeting of the Committee of the Whole is set for 6 p.m. April 25 to interview candidates. The goal is to name a replacement at the April 28 Quorum Court meeting.

The justices of the peace can consider any qualified county resident other than sitting justices of the peace and Holloway and Latham, the two men who are running for sheriff in the November general election, Spence said. A person appointed to a county office can't run for that position in the next election, according to state law.

Tena O'Brien, county clerk, received applications Wednesday morning from Johnie Wood of Bentonville and Meyer Gilbert of Siloam Springs.

Gilbert listed 22 years experience with the Coahoma (Miss.) County Sheriff's Office, the Clarksdale (Miss.) Police Department and international experience in law enforcement operations in Iraq and Kosovo. He is a deposit risk manager with Arvest Bank in Lowell.

Gilbert said he didn't want to get into details before the Quorum Court interview process. He said he has followed the issues with the Sheriff's Office and wants to offer his help.

"When you've been in law enforcement you're always willing to do anything you can to help the community," he said.

In his resume, Wood said he retired from the U.S. Air Force as a major after he spent 11 years as an enlisted man and 13 years as a commissioned officer. His law enforcement experience was part of his service in the Air Force. He also listed experience in corporate security and operations. Wood offered to serve as interim sheriff at no cost to the county, waiving the salary and benefits. He said he has medical benefits and retirement income from the military and from J.B. Hunt Transport.

"My purpose in applying is to restore faith in the Sheriff's Office by the public and members of the Sheriff's Office," Wood said.

Wood, a native of Gravette, worked with other law enforcement agencies while he was in the military and at J.B. Hunt, where he was also involved in preparing and justifying budgets. Wood said he understands the limitations of an interim appointment.

"You're not going to go in there for eight months and make a lot of changes," he said. "But I would work to make any changes deemed necessary by the justices of the peace or by the Sheriff's Office staff."

The justices of the peace replaced another county official last year when Assessor Bear Chaney resigned to take a job with the state. State law says a person appointed to serve out the unexpired term of a county official cannot succeed themselves in office, which bars the appoint of Holloway or Latham as sheriff now. While the process is similar, several justices of the peace said they feel more urgency to resolve the situation with the Sheriff's Office.

"I think, obviously, the Sheriff's Office is a little higher profile than the assessor," Barry Moehring, justice of the peace, said Wednesday. The justices of the peace need to take as much time as needed, but also have to make a decision relatively soon, Moehring said.

"I think we need to be flexible, but we do need to do so with some speed," he said. "We have to balance making sure we get the right candidate with getting the situation at the Sheriff's Office settled."

Joel Jones, justice of the peace, said he probably will lean toward a candidate with local law enforcement experience.

"I would prefer to see local law enforcement, either in the Sheriff's Office or in a local police department," Jones said. "I think having experience in the area, working with the prosecutors, judges and other law enforcement agencies, is important. It helps with continuity. Whoever we appoint isn't going to be there long enough to really affect any major changes other than removing the negativity that is in the office right now."

Pat Adams, justice of the peace, will try to interview all applicants personally in advance of the Quorum Court interview sessions. Adams said he values law enforcement experience, but management ability may be more important.

"Whoever we choose they have to be a good manager," Adams said. "They have to be able to manage people and resources. They have to be a disciplinarian and they have to provide for a smooth transition with whoever is elected sheriff."

Tom Allen, justice of the peace, said it's important for the justices of the peace to keep an open mind as they go through the process of selecting an interim sheriff.

"I'm confident we're going to have good people to choose from," Allen said.

NW News on 04/14/2016

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