The probable cause statement written by Newton County Deputy Travis Spencer in the stealing case against Redings Mill Mayor Jimmy L. Brown, 80, is printed below:
Village of Redings Mill board members including Debra and Sam Charles, Julie and Ronald Pizinger stated that they were concerned that Mayor Jimmy L. Brown had been stealing money from the village of Redings Mill for years.
Debra provided this detective with the few books containing minimal financial information that they had received from Jim Brown.
County Auditor C. Ward and this detective reviewed all checks in all Village of Redings Mill accounts from 2011 through July 2014 for suspicious transactions, reviewed paid invoices and cash tickets received from Jim Brown for prior years to validate payments, subpoenaed information from Sun Loans and Bankers Branch of Kansas to determine ownership of loans; both were Jim Brown's and had payments from Village of Redings Mill to them. We were also able to determine the difference between the village's Empire Electric account and that of Jim Brown and confirm that Village funds were used to also pay Jim Brown's Empire account.
The County Auditor and I located village checks that were paid to Jim Brown with Jim Brown being the signer as well as well as Village checks that were written just for "cash" and signed by Jim Brown.
Checks were also located that were paid to MG&E, Joplin Flea Market, AT&T, Sprint, Kohl's Department Store, and McAllister Dentistry from the Village accounts.
Debra Charles stated that Jim Brown did not have permission to use the Village funds for any of those purchases. The Village funds that Jim Brown used for his personal needs added up to a total of $9,813.50. There were an additional $3,183.13 of questionable funds that were unaccounted for and Jim Brown could not provide any records for.
When Jim Brown was asked to explain the theft of funds from the Village of Redings Mill accounts, Jim Brown stated that he knowingly used Village funds for personal reasons, however, he had the intentions to pay the Village back.
This detective asked why Jim Brown did not attempt to begin paying the Village back until the Sheriff's Office began investigating the incident. Jim Brown stated that he did not know. Jim did state that he did not believe that he owed $9,813.50, however, asked if he was able to get a bank loan for that amount if he would still be prosecuted if he paid the Village back.
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