Saturday, May 03, 2008
Mingo County Sheriff Cleared In Ouster Suit.
A special three judge panel has ruled that an ouster suit filed by a Mingo County resident on the Mingo County sheriff. has no merit.
Last year Larry Hamrick filed the suit against Sheriff Lonnie Hannah. It accused Hannah of malfeasance and official misconduct.
The petition alleged that the sheriff had illegally obtained subpoenas during an investigation of how FEMA money was spent following the flood of 2004 and also alleged that the sheriff ignored orders from the circuit court and ther County Commission to sign checks made out to two companies for work done after the flooding. Hannah had questioned the validity of the companies’ invoice.
The sheriff filed a similar suit against County Commissioner Greg “ Hootie “ Smith. Last year a special panel sided against the sheriff. Hannah has since appealed the ruling to the West Virginia State Supreme Court. If Hannah loses the appeal then the county would be required to compensate Smith the money that he has spent on his attorney fees. Two months ago Smith filed a motion requesting WV State Supreme Court Justice Spike Maynard to recuse himself from the appeal because Maynard and Hannah are friends.
Last year Larry Hamrick filed the suit against Sheriff Lonnie Hannah. It accused Hannah of malfeasance and official misconduct.
The petition alleged that the sheriff had illegally obtained subpoenas during an investigation of how FEMA money was spent following the flood of 2004 and also alleged that the sheriff ignored orders from the circuit court and ther County Commission to sign checks made out to two companies for work done after the flooding. Hannah had questioned the validity of the companies’ invoice.
The sheriff filed a similar suit against County Commissioner Greg “ Hootie “ Smith. Last year a special panel sided against the sheriff. Hannah has since appealed the ruling to the West Virginia State Supreme Court. If Hannah loses the appeal then the county would be required to compensate Smith the money that he has spent on his attorney fees. Two months ago Smith filed a motion requesting WV State Supreme Court Justice Spike Maynard to recuse himself from the appeal because Maynard and Hannah are friends.
# posted by Joe Kinzer @ 1:10 PM 
