CENTERTON, Ark. — Centerton's former Public Works Director, Ricky Dale Hudson, was arrested for theft of property and fraudulent use of a credit/debit card charges.
He was booked into the Benton County jail on Thursday (Dec 16.) and is being held without bond.
According to court documents filed in Benton County Circuit Court, the Centerton Police Department started investigating Hudson after being told he may have items ordered through the City of Centerton's Amazon business account and was not authorized to do so. They believe he was making unauthorized purchases using city credit cards and funds.
The paperwork also states why police believe Hudson is no longer a Centerton employee.
"Hudson used to be the former Public Works department head but was found to be intoxicated on duty and resigned shortly after," the documents read.
The documents show Hudson may have used multiple city departments to acquire items.
"The city procedure allows department heads and certain others to make purchases up to $1,000.00 without approval from the mayor of the city. Several items were purchased over the $1,000.00 limit but Hudson went around that by noting on the invoices that half would be charged to the Parks Department and the other half to the Street Department. All items purchased were delivered to the City of Centerton Street Department and transported from there to various storage locations and residences."
The paperwork shows many different items being ordered, such as a drill press, calligraphy stencil kit, ceiling fan, heavy-duty dolly roller, folding truck bed cover utility box, and several items for a Ford F-150 AND F-250 pick up trucks that Hudson owns or had owned.
"Other items that were never installed on any of the two Ford pickup trucks belonging to the city and ordered by Hudson include an easy oil drain plug, an oil separator and a leveling kit for a Ford F-250 which Hudson has owned over the last year, which was purchased as far back as January of 2020," the documents read.
The investigation claims Hudson moved into a residence he recently had built, and he used city money to purchase screws and 32 rolls of joist tape on an exterior deck on this property.
It also claims a city employee helped Hudson load the heavy-duty dolly roller into the bed of Hudson's truck. It states the employee did not know the item was bought with city money. The employee told police Hudson told him the dolly was ordered by him and not through the city account.
On Nov 17, and after Hudson was no longer an employee of the city, police went to Hudson's home to serve a search warrant for the ordered items. They said he was not there, but they found him at a storage unit and confronted him. Police presented Hudson with a list and invoices of items ordered with city money.
"I inquired around that time about the 96' fan and he confirmed it was AT the residence, unopened, in the basement, uninstalled. I asked about the speakers, Nest thermostat and Ring camera, which Hudson stated it was all at the house. Hudson agreed to travel to the residence since it would be easier to gather the items. Once unloaded, stated, "Let's go to the house. I'll give you all that s***, the warrant paperwork reads.
The arrest warrant paperwork says that investigators spent the next 10 days making several trips back to Hudson's property to obtain most or all of the items.
Police said they also served a second search warrant to gather more items from Hudson's property.
At the police station, investigators confronted Hudson about not coming forward with the magnitude of his purchases. They said he told them he was embarrassed.
Police said there were a total of 726 items recovered from the residence that matched invoices, receipts and record purchases.
As of now, police have the total number of purchases listed as follows:
- Amazon - $30,155.35
- City Credit Cards - $27,721.38
- Auto Zone - $4,313.73
He is accused of fraudulent use of a credit card totaling $27,721.38, and total theft of $62,190.46.