Grayson Police Chief says $3.6K in missing money was stolen from patrol car
By
Grayson Police Chief Mitch Bratton is
facing two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of malfeasance
in office following a Louisiana State Police investigation.
Bratton announced his arrest in a Facebook post on Thursday.
"A
few weeks back, I contacted an outside agency to come look into
some concerns that I had with a town employee,” Bratton said. “Today,
while cooperating with the state police investigators, they charged me
with obstruction of justice and malfeasance in office.
I
won't debate the validity of the charge. I wanted to be in full
disclosure. This does not affect me being the chief of police and I
intend to be as accessible as I always have while I let the criminal
justice system work this issue out.”
In an interview with LSP, Mayor Melissa Bratton told
LSP she was having problems with her clerk Rosetta Mercer and suspected
Mercer was stealing money. No city officials could provide documentation
to support the theft allegation. They said they were suspicious because
of unpaid bills.
On
May 28, Mitch Bratton contacted LSP again and said he did not see
anything indicating money was missing. He said there were discrepancies
with Mercer’s salary that needed to be investigated and issues with
reimbursement payments not matching receipts.
Complaint 1
In
an interview, Mercer told LSP Mitch Bratton received approximately
$8,000 in narcotics money in 2018 and 2019 and no arrests were made. The
money was provided from the village general fund in various payments.
When Mercer asked Bratton about the payments, he told her “state police” audits him, a statement the warrant labels as a lie.
Mercer
also told investigators various creditors would call the office because
Bratton owed them money. She claimed Bratton used his influence as
police chief to intimidate creditors into leaving him alone. The
creditors later confirmed Mercer’s statements as did former city
officials.
Village bank records showed Bratton used approximately
$7,210 in 2018 and 2019 for narcotics investigations. The warrant
states no documentation or witnesses were found to support that
investigations occurred.
Bratton allegedly told
investigators most of this work was performed outside Grayson city
limits and implied the Caldwell Parish Sheriff’s Office would have most
of the documentation. When asked for evidence vault access, Bratton said
he lost his key on vacation in Florida. LSP opened the vault and
reported no documentation or witness statements were found.
Complaint 2
An
interview regarding a second complaint investigated by LSP was
conducted on June 3. A woman told state police a man’s ex-wife offered
her $5,000 to frame the man on a battery charge.
The
woman contacted Bratton about the offer, and he started an
investigation. The warrant states he told the woman he would fake the
arrest so she could obtain the $5,000 bounty. LSP obtained pictures,
recordings and a private investigator report confirming a false arrest
report was prepared.
The woman collected the
$5,000, and Bratton allegedly told her he only needed $2,500 to
prosecute the case. Per the warrant, he asked her to drop the money off
in the drop box at city hall and keep the rest. A recording was made of
the delivery of the funds, and the woman provided a copy of her bank
statements with the $2,500 deposit.
Bratton told the parties involved he would go forward
with the prosecution of all involved in the framing operation and was
discussing the case with a district judge. Per the warrant, LSP has not
received any information confirming Bratton communicated with a district
judge.
Per the warrant, Bratton said he received
the $2,500, and it was in the evidence locker. After LSP obtained a
search warrant for the locker, Bratton allegedly said he placed the
money on the top of his patrol unit's console, and it went missing. He
also said he did not allow the woman to keep $2,500.
Complaint 3
As
LSP executed a search warrant at the police department, a resident
entered city hall and asked for Bratton. The resident said her boyfriend
was stopped by Bratton and two Xanax bars, one suboxone tablet and
$1,150 in cash were seized.
Per the arrest warrant,
Bratton said he also placed this money on his console, and it went
missing at the same time as the other money.
When
the drugs were not located in the evidence locker, a search of Bratton’s
patrol vehicle followed. Xanax and suboxone were found in the cup
holder along with suspected methamphetamine and other drug
paraphernalia.
Per the report, Bratton told LSP he had not conducted a criminal investigation into the missing money or reported it missing.
LSP is accusing Bratton of intentionally concealing the missing funds.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Editors note: It is unknown whether the police chief and the mayor are related.
1 comment:
Typical politics and policing in Louisiana.
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