Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly has decided not to contest the preliminary decision by an Ohio Supreme Court-appointed commission to recommend his temporary suspension from duty.
To find his temporary replacement, Athens County Commissioners plan to hold a special meeting Thursday at 10 a.m., according to a release from the commissioners.
The replacement will serve until the Athens County Democratic Party can pick a replacement, according to the release.
“I have full confidence in my staff and employees that they will continue at the same high level of professionalism and dedication during my absence,” Kelly said in a prepared statement to media.
Kelly plans to spend time preparing for his court case in September, he added.
The two people being considered for his replacement are retired Lt. Rodney Smith and Sheriff’s Detective Lt. Jack Taylor. They have both filed applications with Athens County Democratic Party Chair Kathy Hecht.
Commissioner Lenny Eliason confirmed the commissioners will interview only Smith and Taylor for the job during the session Thursday.
Hecht said David Malawista of the Athens Police Department had previously expressed interest in applying for the position, but withdrew his application, She added, the commissioners are expected to announce their decision right after Thursday’s meeting seeing as they have already spoke with both of the applicants prior to the meeting.
Whomever is selected will serve until the 44-member Central Committee meets April 8 to appoint a permanent replacement.
After Kelly’s Jan. 31 indictment on 25 counts, including 23 felonies, a special commission was appointed Feb. 19 to determine whether or not he should be suspended during the trial.
The three judges on the commission included: retired judges John F. Bender, Neal B. Bronson and Jennifer L. Sargus.
Despite confirmation from the commissioners about their intention to appoint an interim sheriff, the Ohio Supreme Court is forbidden from releasing information before the official end of the special commission hearing, according to Ohio Revised Code section 3.16.
“There is nothing to report at this time,” Ohio Supreme Court Spokesman Chris Davies said in an email. “The statute prohibits the release of information until the special commission completes its work and issues a final report, which it has not yet done.”
—Olivia Bower contributed to this report.
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This article ran in print under the headline: County
to seek interim sheriff
