Friday, July 11, 2008

Jailer Accused of Clearing his Own Warrant

A Greene County Correctional Officer lost his job for erasing his own warrant. Court documents say Greene County Deputy Steven Donovan was frustrated that a warrant he thought was dropped was still on the books in Phelps County.

Investigators say Donovan took matters into his own hands and erased the warrant.

Donovan was fired from his job on Monday.

He's charged with misuse of official information by a public servant. The charge is a misdemeanor.

Sheriff Jack Merritt says the department has already restricted access to the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System. That's the system Donovan allegedly used to erase the warrant.

Sheriff Merritt said:

"It's a very difficult situation. The young man was faced with trying to get the record straight. A warrant was issued, the prosecutors office wasn't pursuing it but it wasn't lifted. They didn't fix it. So he did. He made a very bad choice and took the warrant out himself."

In a taped interview Donovan stated he acted alone when he removed the warrant from the MULES system.

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