BENTONVILLE --The Arkansas Ethics Commission dismissed 13 ethics complaints against Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck in the last few months.
The commission rejected allegations Cradduck used county employees to help with his concealed carry permit classes, a complaint brought by Kevin Harrison, justice of the peace for District 5. Harrison said he spoke with Graham Sloan, commission director, about the complaint and he accepted the decision.
What’s next
Benton County’s Committee of the Whole is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. April 25 to interview candidates interested in serving as interim sheriff. The issue is set to go to the Quorum Court on April 28.
Source: Staff Report
"He just said there wasn't enough evidence to proceed," Harrison said. "He said law enforcement agencies do a lot of paperwork relating to concealed carry permits and there wasn't enough evidence to indicate this was anything more than that."
Harrison said he has one more complaint pending, alleging Cradduck used a Sheriff's Office employee as a babysitter, but he has received no notice on the disposition of that complaint.
"He said he couldn't comment on it," Harrison said. Sloan has said repeatedly commission policy is to neither confirm nor deny a complaint has been received while the matter is pending. If a complaint is received any resolution is a matter of public record, as Sloan said in the letter Monday reporting the dismissal of the complaints.
Along with Harrison's complaint, the commission voted 4-0, with one commissioner absent, to dismiss 12 complaints filed by Clifford Ferguson. The complaints covered a variety of issues with Cradduck's re-election campaign; that he and his wife benefited from repairs done to vehicles by Sheriff's Office employees; that Cradduck taught a handgun class on public property that increased the profit of his personal business of teaching classes for concealed carry permits; that he threatened to fire Sheriff's Office employees after his arrest; that he threatened to arrest a member of the news media; that he allowed Chief Deputy Richie Conner to use a Sheriff's Office vehicle for personal use; that he tampered with physical evidence in relation to the investigation of criminal charges against him; that he received "gifts" from Sabrina Cradduck and from a confidential informant; and that he sent a memo ordering an officer to "stand down" from arresting Sabrina Cradduck in connection with a drug investigation.
The commission's reasons for denying the complaints varied. Some were denied because there was no evidence of a financial relationship between the parties involved. Others were rejected with the letter citing testimony from Cradduck and others denying the allegations. Some were determined to be outside the scope of the ethics law.
Cradduck didn't respond to calls to his county cell phone Monday. Drew Miller, Cradduck's attorney, was out of his office Monday afternoon and couldn't be reached for comment. Cradduck denied all of the allegations against him at the Jan. 28 Quorum Court meeting.
Ferguson, son of former sheriff Keith Ferguson, said he accepts the commission's decision on his complaints. He said he hadn't received the letter, so he couldn't comment in detail. Ferguson, who appeared at the Quorum Court meeting in January to press for Cradduck's removal from office, said his recent resignation was enough to meet that demand.
"I am satisfied with the resignation," Ferguson said. "If there are other issues it will come out over time."
The commission on Monday released the letters dismissing ethics complaints brought against Cradduck relating to his conduct in office. Cradduck also faces criminal charges and the Quorum Court on Friday agreed to pay him nearly $80,000 -- the amount he's due in salary and benefits through the end of the year -- in exchange for his resignation as soon as a replacement is named.
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.
Cradduck faces a three-day jury trial in September on a felony charge he tampered with a public record and a misdemeanor tampering charge. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The justices of the peace can consider any qualified elector as a replacement for Cradduck, according to George Spence, county attorney. Spence said a qualified elector is any resident registered to vote. Spence said state law bars the appointment of 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 succeed themselves in that position, according to state law.
The County Clerk's Office has received several letters and resumes from potential candidates. Former sheriff Andy Lee sent a letter and resume to the office by email Friday. The county has also received letters or resumes from former sheriff Keith Ferguson and former county judge Bruce Rutherford, along with letters from Johnie Wood of Bentonville and Meyer Gilbert of Siloam Springs. Timothy Filbeck, who ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in the Republican party primary, also submitted a resume Friday. Joseph Fabits of Bentonville submitted a resume to the county Monday.
A special meeting of the Committee of the Whole is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 25 for the justices of the peace to interview candidates. The issue is set to go to the Quorum Court on April 28.
NW News on 04/19/2016