Assessor convicted, resigns post

The Newton County assessor was found guilty Tuesday of felony theft and promptly resigned.

Sheila McCutcheon, 59, a Republican, entered a no-contest plea during her jury trial at the courthouse in Jasper. Two witnesses had testified before the plea deal was reached Tuesday afternoon.

Circuit Judge John Putman ruled McCutcheon guilty in open court while the jury was in recess.

As part of the plea agreement, Putman ordered McCutcheon to pay $10,040 in restitution to Arkansas Legislative Audit. She also must pay court costs and fees totaling about $470.

McCutcheon was sentenced to five years' probation and agreed not to run for public office again, Putman said.

As part of the deal, theft charges were dropped against former Deputy Assessor Desiray McCutcheon, 36, Sheila McCutcheon's daughter-in-law.

The McCutcheons, both of Vendor, were arrested June 17 by the Arkansas State Police after a state audit revealed that $11,504 worth of personal items were purchased with county credit cards from 2010 through 2015, according to charges filed in Newton County Circuit Court.

Putman said the purchases in question included a lawnmower, rib-eye steaks, beer, cigarettes and Grecian Formula, a hair-coloring product for men.

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The purchases were made with Wal-Mart credit cards that were meant for assessor's office supplies, according to a probable-cause affidavit from Ted Jones, a state police agent.

Bank records indicated the women had made attempts to repay the credit card account for personal purchases over time.

Vickie Bartholomew, the Newton County treasurer, said Sheila McCutcheon wrote a check to the county in June for $10,458.

Putman said McCutcheon contends that she has paid back more than the $11,504 in question.

He said the $10,040 in restitution to Legislative Audit will repay the agency for time spent working on the audit.

According to Legislative Audit, $7,483 in personal purchases were identified by McCutcheon and $4,021 in personal purchases were identified by audit staff based on interviews with county officials.

As part of the deal Tuesday, McCutcheon also agreed to plead guilty to a perjury charge in Boone County, but that charge will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, Putman said. McCutcheon has yet to be sentenced in that case.

The perjury charge stems from a civil-court case regarding the estate of McCutcheon's mother, Frances Lorene Smith of Vendor, who died June 22, 2014, at age 82.

McCutcheon said under oath at a court hearing in Harrison on Feb. 11, 2016, that she had never forged her deceased mother's name, but a handwriting expert determined McCutcheon had forged Smith's name on more than 50 documents.

McCutcheon's resignation Tuesday marked the second time she has resigned within the past year.

She resigned in June when she was charged with theft. Then she was re-elected Nov. 8 as the only assessor candidate on the ballot. She resumed her old job as assessor in January.

Sheila McCutcheon was deputy assessor from 1993-96 before being elected assessor for the first time in 1997. She served continuously as assessor from then until her resignation in June.

Under Arkansas Code Annotated 21-12-302, a county officer who is convicted of a felony shall be ousted from office.

George Stone, McCutcheon's attorney, didn't return a voice mail message left Wednesday. There also was no answer when a call was placed to the assessor's office Wednesday.

Metro on 04/20/2017

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