The sheriff of Hot Spring County, Ark., pleaded guilty Friday to a federal charge of concealing information from the FBI in a drug investigation, reports the Arkansas Advocate. Derek “Scott” Finkbeiner, 47, admitted in U.S. District Court in El Dorado that he misled the FBI about his relationship with a target of a federal investigation, said U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes. In a change of plea hearing before Chief Judge Susan Hickey, Finkbeiner admitted he was present at the target’s residence when an FBI informant conducted a controlled purchase of narcotics and that he “smoked” crack cocaine and methamphetamine with the target, Fowlkes said.
Finkbeiner admitted that when he learned of the FBI’s investigation, he lied about the nature of his and the Hot Spring County Sheriff Department’s relationship with the target in an effort to convince the FBI to halt its investigation, the prosecutor said. Finkbeiner, who resigned Friday, will be sentenced in four months. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Finkbeiner was jailed this month in Saline County. It marked the third time he’d been arrested since he was elected in 2022.
Comentarios