CONWAY, Ark. (AP) – A county in central Arkansas won’t reimburse its public defender’s office for more than $350,000 of funding that officials diverted to other entities over almost two decades.
Faulkner County attorney David Hogue tells the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the county’s quorum court has agreed to end the practice of transferring money from the defender’s office to other programs. But the court declined to reimburse any of the remaining money.
Lynn Plemmons is chief public defender of the 20th Judicial Circuit public defender’s office. Plemmons first discovered the money transfers after taking over the circuit position in February.
Plemmons says the office doesn’t have enough money to hire an investigator or a legal secretary.
The prosecuting attorney’s office will return $23,500 of the defender’s funding, but it’s not enough to cover hiring costs.
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