Despite re-election, accused Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris agrees to resign

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Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris, who was recently re-elected despite pending charges of embezzlement and bribery of a public official, has agreed to remain suspended for the next six months and forgo the term he just won.

The temporary restraining order filed Friday completes a motion to remove Morris from office filed by the Pittsburg County Board of Commissioners in May, days after he was first charged.

Morris, who won 56.68 percent of the vote against opponent Randy Hass in the June 18 Republican primary, is accused of falsifying records for a Polaris utility vehicle he owned before reselling it to the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office at a higher price.

A second felony charge was added after allegations surfaced that Morris charged extra for repairs on the sheriff’s vehicle so he could get a discount on his personal repairs. Morris was also accused of accepting free repairs on his personal vehicle in exchange for bringing sheriff’s office vehicles to the McAlester shop.

The agreed order states that Morris will remain suspended until he resigns at the end of his current term or on January 2, 2025, whichever is later. Morris’ agreement not to seek a third term will trigger a special election to determine the next sheriff of Pittsburg County.

The order states that the agreement makes it unnecessary to “continue the process of his dismissal.” However, it makes clear that Morris is not admitting any wrongdoing and that the motion to dismiss will not be denied until after his final resignation.

Cherokee County District Attorney Jack Thorp, who was assigned the Morris case after the local district attorney recused himself, said criminal charges against the sheriff are ongoing.

“The order ends the removal process scheduled for July 22 and provides some clarity to the citizens of Pittsburg County,” Thorp said in a statement to NonDoc. “We expect to continue working toward a resolution of the criminal case. Sheriff Morris is presumed innocent of the charges filed.”

Morris condemned “fake county commissioner”

Friday’s motion came after Morris fought for two months to stay in office.

His attorney, Jeremy Beaver, filed a motion to dismiss the case on June 5. Morris pleaded not guilty in the dismissal proceedings, stating that he “voluntarily and with counsel consented to an interview with agents of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and answered their questions as honestly as possible.”

Before voting on the motion to dismiss, the Pittsburg County Commissioners were one board member short because District 2 Commissioner Kevin Smith resigned in February. A day after Morris was indicted on embezzlement charges in May, the board held a special meeting and appointed Sandra Crenshaw as interim District 2 commissioner until a successor could be chosen for Smith, whose wife, Pam, is the county clerk of court.

In the June 18 primary, the Second District seat was decided between two Republicans, Mike Haynes and Don Chapman. Haynes won the seat with 73.93 percent of the vote and was appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt on July 1 to immediately fill the seat in accordance with state law.

But Morris’ June 5 motion argued that the Pittsburg County Board of Commissioners’ decision to appoint Crenshaw as interim was illegal and invalidated the petition against the controversial sheriff. The motion referred to Crenshaw as a “fake county commissioner.”

Under the same Oklahoma law, if a county commissioner position becomes vacant in an election year, no special election is held. Instead, the winner of the regular election cycle is appointed by the governor “as soon as practicable after the election in question.”

“How ironic that the Board of County Commissioners voted to impeach and attempt to remove the duly elected Sheriff of Pittsburg County for alleged misconduct, while just five days earlier the Board itself acted illegally by appointing its members in violation of Oklahoma law,” Beaver wrote in the June 5 motion.

In addition to claiming that Crenshaw’s appointment was illegal, the motion also alleged that the board meeting to decide on action against Morris violated the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act “by allowing a non-board member to vote and participate in the closed session.”

Attorney General Thorp filed his response to the motion, acknowledging that Crenshaw’s appointment to the board was unnecessary because only a majority vote is required to bring an action for removal.

“Here, both Commissioner Selman and Commissioner Rogers voted to impeach,” Thorp wrote. “The defendant certainly does not claim that Commissioner Selman or Commissioner Rogers did not have the authority to vote to impeach.”

Thorp’s response also noted that the actions of a “de facto official remain valid to the extent that they affect the interests of the public or third parties.”

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Morris motions reveal defence strategy

Although Friday’s order could initiate a dismissal of Morris’s deportation case, the documents reveal elements of the arguments Morris is likely to make if the criminal case goes to trial.

While investigating embezzlement charges against Morris, OSBI Special Agent Mark Drummond noticed discrepancies in mileage reports on the Polaris, which Vicars Powersports purchased from the manufacturer for $28,952 and sold new to Morris for $29,772.03. After Morris traded in the Polaris months later, Vicars Powersports sold it to the county for $31,099. The vehicle’s odometer showed 695 miles when Drummond photographed it in February.

In January, Morris allegedly signed a fake odometer reading of 22 miles, even though a warranty repair document showed the odometer reading as 404 miles in September 2023. In a June 25 objection filed in the eviction proceedings, Beaver claimed that the document showing the odometer reading of 22 miles is a “clear forgery that should be obvious to anyone.”

“Any casual observer can see that the 22-mile speedometer statement is not the sheriff’s signature,” Morris’ attorney wrote. “In addition, the document purports to contain the signature of Tim Diehl, who was also one of the registered owners of the Polaris. Mr. Diehl has provided a sworn statement that he did not sign the speedometer statement and did not authorize anyone to do so on his behalf.”

Morris was accused of purchasing the Polaris below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price and then trading it back to Vicars Powersports, which subsequently sold it to the county at a higher price. This was allegedly done so Morris could instead purchase a 2024 Can-Am ATV for personal use. In his defense, Morris has claimed that accessories he added to the Polaris increased its value to the amount needed to trade it in for the Can-Am.

Morris, who has repeatedly maintained his innocence since being charged, turned the focus to his music career over the Fourth of July weekend. Morris posted photos from the Station Inn stage he shared in Nashville with McAlester native Eddie Sanders, who sang with Billy Ray Cyrus at the Grand Ole Opry later that week.

Read Chris Morris’ resignation request

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