Cradduck pleads no contest; gets probation

Former Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck walks to the Benton County Courthouse on Friday in Bentonville. Cradduck pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor tampering charge and received six months on probation and a $500 fine.
Former Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck walks to the Benton County Courthouse on Friday in Bentonville. Cradduck pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor tampering charge and received six months on probation and a $500 fine.

BENTONVILLE -- Kelley Cradduck pleaded no contest Friday to one of the criminal charges that drove the former Benton County sheriff from office.

Kelley Cradduck timeline

2012

May 22: Kelley Cradduck defeats Mike Jones to win the Republican nomination for Benton County sheriff. He has no Democratic opposition in November.

2013

Jan 1: Cradduck is sworn in as sheriff.

Jan. 16: A shotgun falls off the back of a deputy’s car. The damaged weapon is later found and returned. Cradduck fires the deputy involved. Feb. 11: Cradduck fires three jail deputies for an incident where a restrained inmate was pepper-sprayed.

2014

June 5: A deputy wrecks his takehome vehicle in Madison County driving back from a music festival where he was working a private job. Oct. 10: Cradduck announces a shake-up in his command staff, replacing Rob Holly with Richie Conner as chief deputy.

Nov. 4: Unopposed, Cradduck wins second term.

2015

Sept. 2: Cradduck is admitted to a local hospital after he suffers a possible seizure.

Oct. 29: Jail Capt. Jeremy Guyll and Lt. Robin Holt file grievances, claiming they were demoted in retaliation for them assisting with an Arkansas State Police investigation of Cradduck.

Oct. 30: Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecuting attorney, requests a special prosecutor be appointed to handle any investigation concerning Cradduck.

Nov. 2: Jason Barrett is sworn in as special prosecutor to handle the Cradduck investigation.

Nov. 5: Cradduck announces he will seek re-election as Arkansas State Police troopers execute a search warrant at the Sheriff’s Office.

Nov. 17: The county Grievance Committee rules in favor of Guyll and Holt. Cradduck reinstates them the next day.

2016

Jan. 19: Cradduck is arrested by Arkansas State Police.

Jan. 21: Cradduck hands over daily duties to Conner.

Feb. 1: Special prosecutor Barrett files formal charges against Cradduck.

Feb. 22: Cradduck pleads not guilty to one felony tampering charge and one misdemeanor tampering charge.

Feb. 24: Cradduck fires Deputy Sean Chandler after his arrest in connection with the sexual assault of a teenage girl.

March 1: Cradduck finishes third in the Republican Party primary for sheriff.

April 12: Conner announces he will pay a $1,000 fine to the Arkansas Ethics Commission for using a county vehicle to travel out of state on vacation.

April 13: Cradduck agrees to resign in exchange for $80,000 — what he would have been paid in salary and benefits for the rest of the year. The Quorum Court approves the payout. April 18: The Arkansas Ethics

Commission dismisses numerous ethics complaints filed against

Cradduck.

April 23: Sheriff’s Office deputies conduct a drug sting that results in a shots being fired in the parking lot of a Rogers Walmart.

April 25: Mayors and police chiefs of Bentonville and Rogers send letter to county justices of the peace expressing concern for the public’s safety over high-speed chases and sting operations in their cities by Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Quorum Court selects Meyer Gilbert of Siloam Springs to serve as interim sheriff.

April 28: Gilbert sworn in as interim sheriff to serve out Cradduck’s term. April 29: Cradduck pleads no contest to misdemeanor tampering and receives six months of probation and a $500 fine.

Source: Staff report

Special Judge Randy Wright told Cradduck a no contest plea is the same as finding him guilty. He was charged with tampering with public documents, a felony; and tampering, a misdemeanor.

Drew Miller, Cradduck's attorney, and special prosecutor Jason Barrett hammered out a plea deal that dropped the felony charge. Cradduck pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor.

Wright placed Cradduck on unsupervised probation for six months and ordered him to pay $670 in court costs. He left the courthouse without comment.

The plea deal was an appropriate resolution, Barrett said.

"Justice doesn't always require a harsh punishment," he said. "The plea put him in a position where he will never be able to violate the public's trust again."

Cradduck's plea makes him ineligible to serve in another elected office in the state, Barrett said. The tampering offense is considered an infamous crime, and under state law, Cradduck can't serve in another elected office, he said.

Miller disagrees with Barrett about whether Cradduck can seek elected office again. Cradduck can have his record expunged a year after his probation ends, Miller said. Cradduck could seek office after his record is expunged, Miller said.

"Based on this situation, he will pause and hesitate before deciding to run for any office," the attorney added.

Miller believes Cradduck would have been acquitted of both charges if the case had gone to trial in September. But the plea was a quick resolution, he said.

"There is a future for him," Miller said. "He will figure it out and he will figure out how he will support his family."

Cradduck encouraged Sheriff's Office employees on Oct. 13 to lie to the Arkansas State Police, who led an investigation into Cradduck's actions, Barrett said.

State Police investigated Cradduck's hiring of Gabriel Cox to work in the jail and whether Cradduck ordered payroll records for Cox to be altered to show a hiring date earlier than when he started to work. The felony charge that was dropped involved Cox's hiring paperwork.

Cradduck previously said he wanted to help Cox, who was homeless, by hiring him to work in the jail. Cox lived with Cradduck at the time, according to court documents.

Cradduck was defeated in the March 1 Republican primary. He agreed to resign if the Benton County Quorum Court paid him $80,000 -- a sum equal to his salary and benefits for the remainder of the year. The money Cradduck received from the county will help him start over, Miller said.

Cradduck's tenure as sheriff's officially ended Thursday night when Meyer Gilbert of Siloam Springs was sworn in to serve the remaining months of his term, which ends Dec. 31.

Justice of the Peace Kevin Harrison said he had no objection to the felony charge being dropped.

"I'm OK with that because I'm sure that was part of the reason he resigned," Harrison said. "He's gone. We're done with it. We have a new sheriff, and we're moving on."

Shawn Holloway, a Republican and former major at the Sheriff's Office, will face Glenn Latham, an independent, on the November ballot in the sheriff's race.

"I'm just glad this chapter in the Benton County Sheriff's Office is over. The county, as well as the employees, can move forward, and I continue to look forward to November," Latham said.

Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecutor, said Cradduck has been held accountable for his criminal conduct during his tenure as sheriff. Smith had requested the State Police investigation and the special prosecutor.

"The people of Benton County deserved better from their sheriff," Smith said. "I am confident that Sheriff Gilbert will restore the dignity to the office of sheriff and encourage the brave men and women who wear the badge and put their lives on the line in our community."

Don Kendall, a Rogers attorney who represents three employees in the Sheriff's Office in a federal lawsuit against Cradduck, couldn't say whether the plea might impact the lawsuit.

Kendall filed the lawsuit in federal court in Fayetteville in March. He represents employees Robin Holt, Megan Rutledge and Dianna Goodwin. Holt is a lieutenant at the jail. Rutledge also works in the jail, and Goodwin is an administrative assistant.

The three are suing for violation of their rights to free speech and association along with civil rights. The lawsuit also claims there was a violation of the Arkansas Whistle Blowers Act because Cradduck's behavior was in retaliation for the women cooperating in State Police investigation.

Tom Allen, justice of the peace, said he is glad Cradduck resigned.

"I'm hoping the county can move on and, more importantly, that Kelley Cradduck can move forward with his life and put this behind him as well."

Tracy M. Neal can be reached by email at [email protected] or Twitter @NWATracy.

NW News on 04/30/2016

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