By Associated Press - Tuesday, April 4, 2017

NOWATA, Okla. (AP) - Nowata County commissioners have appointed an interim sheriff, but a judge denied swearing him in because he doesn’t live in the county.

The Tulsa World (https://bit.ly/2oEB56z ) reports a district judge denied swearing in Erich Richter on Monday. Commissioners will discuss the interim sheriff issue at a meeting Wednesday. The appointed and sworn in interim sheriff will serve until voters can elect a sheriff in November 2018 to fill the second half of the former sheriff’s four-year term.

Commissioners accepted Sheriff Rick Miller’s resignation early March after County Clerk Chris Freeman couldn’t “coherently” determine the amount of debt the sheriff’s office was in because it didn’t follow proper accounting procedures and spent money without first creating purchasing orders.

Richter couldn’t be reached for comment by the Tulsa World.

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Information from: Tulsa World, https://www.tulsaworld.com

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