FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- A corporal with the Fort Smith Police Department resigned Wednesday (Oct. 21) following a prostitution investigation.
An arrest warrant was issued for Corporal Bruce Fletcher the same day after he was accused of hiring a prostitute, according to a press release from the department. Fletcher is facing charges of sexual solicitation, which is Class B misdemeanor.
The release states Fletcher met with the prostitute, identified as Sierra Michelle Robison, 22, three or four times. All of the instances occurred at a private residence, Police Chief Kevin Lindsey said during a media conference.
Fletcher turned himself in to the police and was booked into the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center, according to the release. He was later released on a signature bond.
Documents from the Sebastian County Prosecutor's Office state Robison was being interviewed on Oct. 13 in relation to an unrelated crime when she told investigators she was a local prostitute who had engaged in sexual relations with Fletcher in return for a $100 fee on several occasions. Robison said she and Fletcher would have sex at his residence and then would drive to an ATM at an Arvest Bank to collect her fee, the documents state.
Robison said she met Fletcher about a year and a half ago when he transported her to jail after a prostitution arrest, according to the documents. Months later, on an unrelated call, Fletcher became reacquainted with her and asked Robison "are you still doing what you used to do," the documents state. Robison said she told the officer to contact her on Facebook, which he did that same evening, according to the documents.
Investigators are in possession of those Facebook conversations and still ATM photos from Arvest Bank showing Fletcher withdrawing $100 on two separate occasions with another person in the passenger seat of his car, the documents state.
When investigators interviewed Fletcher, he admitted Robison had been at his residence, that he had had sex with her more than once, that he had taken her to the ATM and withdrew $100 and gave it to her after sex, but they had never kissed or gone anywhere in public, according to the documents.
Fletcher was an 11-year member of the Fort Smith Police Department. Sgt. Daniel Grubbs said Fletcher was a good officer, and always did what he was asked.
"By no means do I look at him today and really look at him any different," he said. "I`m disheartened, and you`re kind of disappointed, that`s probably one of the best words, but I by no means will judge his career by this mistake."
According to the prosecutor's office, Fletcher is scheduled to appear in court on Monday (Oct. 26).