Ex-deputy arrested, charged

A former deputy with the Carroll County sheriff’s office has been arrested over falsified records regarding $11,622 in overtime pay.

Blake Ringberg, 53, of Berryville was arrested Thursday on preliminary felony charges of forgery, theft of property and tampering with a public record, according to an Arkansas State Police news release.

He was released on his own recognizance and has a Jan. 8 court date, sheriff’s office Sgt. Jennifer Newberry said.

In March 2022, Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Rogers asked the state police to conduct an investigation.

According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, Rogers said two deputies, Blake Ringberg and Debra Clowers Ringberg, had been collecting overtime pay from the county’s selective traffic enforcement program without proper documentation.

The county clerk estimated the grand total to be $11,622.36.

“STEP is a federally funded grant administered by the Arkansas State Police,” according to the affidavit. “The grant requires Law Enforcement to conduct traffic stops and write citations for various traffic offenses. … Law Enforcement Officers are required to keep a daily log of vehicles, and persons, stopped, and whether a citation or warning is written to that person.”

An auditor requested those worksheets from Blake Ringberg, who was the STEP coordinator for the sheriff’s office, but the worksheets weren’t provided to him, the affidavit says.

“After looking at Radio Logs, searching for citations written, and court dockets showing citations written by either Blake Ringberg or Debra Clowers Ringberg there are no Radio Log Entries, written warnings, or citations written for the hours of STEP claimed to have been worked for the year 2022,” the affidavit says.

“All other deputies that claimed STEP overtime for the year 2022 have citations that were written, and traffic stops recorded on radio logs,” the affidavit says.

A random internal audit was done for Feb. 12, 2022, in which Blake Ringberg claimed six hours worked and 15 traffic stops.

“Two individuals that know Blake Ringberg were contacted from the list and they both denied ever being stopped by Blake Ringberg ever,” the affidavit says.

Blake Ringberg resigned during the investigation. He no longer works in law enforcement in Arkansas, according to the state police.