HOT SPRINGS -- Former District 5 Justice of the Peace John Horner is under investigation, Sheriff Mike McCormick said at last week's regular meeting of the Garland County Quorum Court.
"There is an active investigation underway at this point," McCormick said, responding to a constituent who had asked him, justices of the peace, county judge, county attorney and prosecuting attorney to investigate Horner and publicly condemn his actions.
The sheriff's office wouldn't confirm if it's leading the investigation or if it had referred the matter to another agency.
"This is an open investigation, and the Garland County Sheriff's Office will not release additional information at this time," the sheriff's office said through the county's public records request system.
An Arkansas State Police spokesperson said last week that its investigators had not been contacted in regard to Horner. The spokesperson could not be reached at press time Wednesday.
Justice of the Peace Dayton Myers, R-District 7, filed a complaint against Horner on March 7, according to a copy the sheriff's office provided in response to a records request.
Myers stated Horner "may have committed fraud, misrepresentation and/or deception in reference to the election process for Garland County justice of the peace seats on multiple occasions," according to the unredacted portion of the case narrative.
The Sentinel-Record reported in January that Horner continued to receive his justice of the peace stipend after selling his home in the district he represented from 2017 through 2022. Payroll records the county provided list the District 5 address Horner sold in 2021 and show he received $11,412 in monthly stipends after the sale.
He told the newspaper in November that he lived with friends in District 5 after his home was sold.
An anonymous county employee wrote to state auditors about the payments last summer, according to a copy of the letter the employee provided the newspaper. The audit of the county's 2022 financial statements the state released last week didn't reference the payments.
"No issues came to our attention that we considered necessary to report to management," state auditors said in their report.
"There is an active investigation going on because I was the one who filed the complaint last week," Myers told the Quorum Court at its March 11 meeting. "I publicly condemn John Horner's actions. I think they're absolutely atrocious. Not just the money he stole from the taxpayers in the county, but also the fact that he tried to file to run against me in my district when he didn't live there."
Affidavits Horner filed with election officials in November listed his address as the Gardens Edge Estates subdivision where he plans to build his home in District 7. The Republican Party of Garland County decertified his candidacy for the party's nomination after he told party officials and the newspaper he didn't reside in District 7.
The party alleged Horner falsified his address, telling the county clerk's office in a letter, a copy of which the clerk provided in response to a records request, that it planned to refer the matter to the prosecuting and U.S. attorneys.
The concrete plant Horner's building supplies company owns on Airport Road was listed as his mailing address on the deed transferring title of the vacant Gardens Edge Estates lot he bought in October 2022. He listed a post office box as his address on the 2021 statement of financial interest he filed with the county clerk's office in February 2022.
Horner said he would issue a statement regarding the investigation when contacted by the newspaper last week but hadn't provided one at press time.
The call for public condemnation came from Bill Fleming, who ran for the District 7 Republican nomination in 2022. Justices of the peace voted unanimously to put Fleming on the March 11 agenda, waiving the procedural rule that requires items go through committee before they appear before the full Quorum Court.
Several justices of the peace told Fleming they needed more information before they would comment publicly.
"I don't think any of us should be put on the spot to make a declaration on a legal issue," Jimmy Young, R-District 4, said. "I'll tell you privately what I think, but I don't think it's an issue that we would vote yes or no on. I'd like to hear more regarding the investigation. With the information we have, which is hearsay, I won't be voting yes or no tonight."
District 5 Justice of the Peace Linda Bright said it's inappropriate to comment on an active investigation. The governor appointed her to represent Distinct 5 for the 2023-24 term after no one filed to run for the office in the 2022 elections. The Quorum Court declared the seat vacant during its January 2023 organizational meeting for the current term.
"I would think we'd wait until we found out what came of [the investigation] before we discussed this any more," she told Fleming.
Justice of the Peace Thomas Anderson, D-District 2, agreed.
"Where [Fleming] got his information, I have no idea," he said. "Until he can tell us where he got his information, besides the newspaper, I don't want to hear anything else about either."
Myers said as the complainant, he was compelled to weigh in publicly. He was served with an arrest warrant in August on charges of purchasing and possession of alcohol by a minor and possession of a fraudulent/altered identification. He pleaded innocent and is scheduled to go to trial April 2 in Garland County District Court.
Myers, 21, is alleged to have used a fake ID to enter Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. According to the affidavit in support of the warrant, he used a fraudulent ID to enter the casino last July, when surveillance video showed him drinking alcoholic beverages and gambling. The affidavit said Myers used fake identification to get into the casino several times before July of last year.
"I agree it's improper for the Quorum Court to discuss any more," Myers, referring to the investigation of Horner, said. "I was the complainant, so I felt it was appropriate for me to say something, but I don't think it should be discussed any more in this room either."
Justice of the Peace Jason Braziel, R-District 8, said Horner deserves due process.
"I don't think anybody should be called guilty before anything has been checked on," he said.