Court orders Sheriff Haskell removed from office
by Pinedale Online!
June 11, 2016
In a brief special public meeting on Friday afternoon, June 10th, the Sublette County Commissioners read several documents into the public record related to the outcome of the civil trial of the State of Wyoming/County of Sublette vs. Sublette County Sheriff Stephen R. Haskell which ended on Thursday.
The first document was the Judgment from Ninth Judicial District Court Judge Marvin Tyler which stated, "On June 9, 2016, the Jury returned a unanimous verdict for the Plaintiff that found that the Defendant, Stephen R. Haskell, committed misconduct or malfeasance in the office while the Sheriff of Sublette County. Under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 18-3-902(c), as a result of the Jury’s verdict, the Plaintiff is entitled to a Judgment in its favor removing the Defendant from the office of Sublette County Sheriff."
The Court ordered two things:
1. That the Defendant is REMOVED as the Sheriff of Sublette County effective immediately.
2. The Defendant pay the Plaintiff’s cost for the civil action. The Plaintiff has 14 days to submit its costs to the Court.
The second document read into the record was a letter sent by the Board of County Commissioners to the Sublette County Republican Party which officially advised them of the court’s order removing Sheriff Haskell from office and declaring a vacancy in the County Sheriff position. The Republican Party has 15 days to submit the names of three persons qualified to fill the vacancy. The Commissioners then have five days to make a selection from the three names to appoint a new Sheriff to serve the remainder of Haskell’s term.
The vacancy will be for a 30 month period of time with the temporary successor serving until January 7, 2019. The person appointed must be a qualified elector and a registered voter. This is a full-time position with the current annual salary of $87,648.75.
Colonel Mark Farrell will be serving as acting Sheriff in the interim. Since Colonel Farrell is presently on vacation, Captain Wes Johnston is in charge of the department until Farrell returns.
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