(Arnolds Park)– A former Arnolds Park Police Chief has been accused of stealing money recovered in a drug investigation.
35-year-old Rodney Hawkins of Arnolds Park has been charged with theft in the third degree…an aggravated misdemeanor.
Authorities allege Hawkins stole cash from the evidence room at the Arnolds Park Police Department that was seized in a search warrant on a drug arrest involving Collin Hill of Spirit Lake. Police Chief Clark Reekers says he discovered the missing money while closing out the case.
Reekers requested Sioux County Sheriff Jim Schwiesow conduct an outside investigation.
The charge was filed Wednesday in Dickinson County District Court by Charles Thoman, Assistant Attorney General with the Attorney General’s Office in Sioux City.
According to court documents, Hawkins has entered a written plea of guilty in a plea bargain seeking a deferred judgement. No word yet on whether or not a judge has accepted the plea.
The incident apparently took place between June 6th 2000 and April 11th 2001 involving what court documents say was more than 500-dollars but less than a thousand.
