Sheriff admits guilt in tampering

Felony dismissed; misdemeanor gets Cradduck probation

Former Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck leaves the county courthouse in Bentonville after a hearing Friday.
Former Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck leaves the county courthouse in Bentonville after a hearing Friday.

BENTONVILLE -- Former Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge, the day after he resigned his office.

Cradduck originally 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 saw Barrett dismiss the felony charge.

Special Circuit Judge Randy Wright of Hope reviewed Cradduck's rights with him before accepting the plea agreement. Wright told Cradduck that a no-contest plea is the same as finding him guilty.

Cradduck was placed on unsupervised probation for six months and must pay $670 in court costs. He left the courthouse without speaking to the media.

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 cannot serve in another elected office, he said.

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

Miller disagreed 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," Miller said.

Barrett told Wright that on Oct. 13 Cradduck encouraged sheriff's office employees to lie to the Arkansas State Police, which was conducting an investigation. That accusation involves the misdemeanor Cradduck pleaded no contest to on Friday.

State police began an investigation into the hiring of Gabriel Cox at the Benton County jail and whether Cradduck ordered Cox's payroll records to be altered to show a hiring date earlier than when Cox actually started work. The felony charge that was dropped involved Cox's hiring paperwork.

Cradduck previously said he wanted to help Cox, who was homeless at the time, 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 earlier if the Benton County Quorum Court agreed to pay him $80,000 -- his salary and benefits for the remainder of the year.

Cradduck's tenure as sheriff officially ended Thursday night when Meyer Gilbert of Siloam Springs was sworn in to serve the remainder of Cradduck's term that 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.

State Desk on 04/30/2016

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