Hot Spring County Sheriff Scott Finkbeiner named in new sealed investigation by Arkansas authorities

HOT SPRING COUNTY, Ark. – An embattled Arkansas sheriff facing federal criminal charges has now been named in a new sealed state investigation.

Hot Spring County Sheriff Scott Finkbeiner was named as the defendant in an Arkansas State Police felony investigation on Thursday. Court records show the charging document was ordered sealed, citing the need to preserve the integrity of the jury pool due to “pretrial publicity regarding other matters involving this Defendant.”

The charges were filed in Hot Spring Circuit Court, and a special prosecutor, Robbie Jones, was assigned to the case. Jones is a conflict prosecutor employed by the state.

A spokesperson for Hot Spring County prosecuting attorney Teresa Howell said that her office was not involved in the case and directed all inquiries to Jones.

Jones said he could not make any statements about the case because it was sealed. However, he did confirm to KARK 4 News that Finkbeiner had not yet appeared before a judge after being arrested on Wednesday.

Finkbeiner is currently facing multiple federal charges. In early November 2023 he was charged with obstructing an FBI investigation into a drug house and drug dealer in the county.

In mid-November he was indicted on additional charges of tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant/obstruction of justice, and counts two and three are misprision of a felony. Misprision is deliberately hiding knowledge of a felony.

The federal case was filed in the Western District of Arkansas and is still in the pre-trial process. Finkbeiner is currently out on bond on those charges and court records show the trial is scheduled for late July in Hot Springs.

After the Nov. 3 charge, the Hot Spring County Quorum Court voted to disallow Finkbeiner from driving any county vehicles and required him to take a weekly drug test. The sheriff’s department is currently being headed by its chief deputy.

As an elected official, Finkbeiner may not be removed from office unless he is convicted of a crime.

As part of his bond release on federal charges, Finkbeiner agreed not to act as sheriff except in payroll matters, not enter the sheriff’s office and would not access law enforcement records.

In a Facebook post on Nov. 6, Finkbeiner stated he had not obstructed justice in any way.

from KARK https://ift.tt/SyVa2Gj