Audit finds problems with former Keokuk sheriff

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BYLINE: Michael J Crumb

Des Moines, IA

A former Keokuk County sheriff didn’t maintain a secure evidence room, and evidence and seized property were kept in unsecured locations, according to an audit released Friday.

Some items were placed in the squad room or in deputies’ office. Other evidence was placed in a garage attached to the sheriff’s office or in sheds outside the building.

The report by the state auditor’s office said case files and evidence logs compiled under former Sheriff Ron George weren’t available to identify pieces of evidence.

“As a result, we were unable to determine whether all seized or forfeited property are properly accounted for,” the report said.

George left office in December after losing a re-election bid. A telephone call to him Friday went unanswered.

The state auditor’s office began investigating after current Sheriff Jeff Shipley discovered items missing from the sheriff’s office, including a thermal-imaging camera valued at $8,400.

The audit indicates that after several phone calls were made to George seeking the return of the equipment, including a uniform and a badge, the county attorney wrote him a letter noting state law requires that the items be returned.

George, who served as sheriff from 1980 to 2008, returned the items in a Rubbermaid container on March 3, the audit said. Included in the container were empty baggies and vials that the report suggests may have contained drugs seized during investigations.

According to the audit, George would sometimes take drugs home to train his own dogs to find drugs.

“Because case files, evidence logs or other records … were not available, we were unable to determine what controlled substance substances, if any, were taken home by former Sheriff George of if controlled substances were properly disposed of,” the report said.

The audit also said George was seen burning case files and evidence logs before he left office.

It identified problems with the jail and the absence of a written policy documenting how much inmates are charged for room and board and when inmates aren’t charged.

And it found a lack of accounting for how cash kept in a slush fund was spent.

Shipley declined to comment on the audit.

The findings have been forwarded to the Keokuk County attorney’s office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa attorney general’s office for further review.

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