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Rogers, AR (KFSM) — Former Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck was arrested Sunday (Aug. 12) by Rogers police on a misdemeanor third-degree assault charge on a female relative , according to Benton County Sheriff’s Office..
According to BCSO Cradduck was moved to Washington County jail for safety reasons.
This is not Cradduck’s first run-in with law enforcement.
Arkansas State Police (ASP) arrested Cradduck in January 2016 for allegedly telling an employee to lie during an ASP investigation into whether Cradduck asked employees to backdate the start date of a new jailer by two weeks, according Jason Barrett, a Little Rock prosecutor appointed to oversee the investigation.
Cradduck initially faced a felony tampering charge alongside a misdemeanor offense.
Cradduck was sentenced to six months probation in April 2016 after pleading no contest to misdemeanor tampering charges.
He resigned later that month after losing the Republican nomination for sheriff.
The conditions of his resignation included the payment of roughly $80,000 for his salary and health insurance contributions through the end of 2016.
Cradduck’s record was later expunged.
Certain offenses can be expunged in Arkansas, meaning someone’s conduct “shall be deemed as a matter of law never to have occurred, and the individual may state that no such conduct ever occurred,” according to Arkansas Code Annotated 16-90-902.
The Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training voted 4-3 in August 2017 to allow Cradduck to keep his law enforcement certification.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office planned to hire Cradduck in September 2017, but Cradduck and Sheriff Randy Mayfield later decided “it is in the best interest of all” for Cradduck not to join the agency.
Carroll County prosecutor Robert Rogers sent Mayfield a letter after the initial hiring announcement, saying cases involving Cradduck could prevent “proper prosecution” due to Cradduck’s expunged criminal history.
Cradduck was being held Sunday with no bond set. He has a hearing set for Sept. 18 in Rogers DIstrict Court.
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Shawnya Meyers
shawnya.meyers@kfsm.com479-783-1191
