Former tech director faces theft charge

Ex-official accused of stealing Washington County property

FAYETTEVILLE — The technology director of Washington County, who resigned in January, is accused of stealing county property, according to an arrest report. John Adams, 56, of 3906 W. Easy St. in Rogers was arrested Tuesday in connection with felony theft of property. He was released Tuesday from the Washington County Detention Center with no bond, according to jail logs.

Fayetteville police said it appeared Adams made some personal purchases on a card issued for county purchases. The report didn’t specify what kind of card. Some invoices were altered, and in some instances, the addresses on invoices were changed from Adams’ personal address to the courthouse before being submitted to the county, according to the report.

County Attorney Brian Lester notified police about the suspected theft Jan. 11, according to the report. Police started an investigation into how Adams handled his county purchasing card, invoices and equipment, according to the police report. The investigation is ongoing.

Adams resigned sometime in January after being put on administrative leave, Lester said, adding he didn’t know the date Adams resigned.

Adams was required to return any county equipment to get his last paycheck, but about $30,000 worth of equipment is still missing or unaccounted for, according to the report.

Adams didn’t return a message left on his personal cellphone Wednesday afternoon. A county cellphone number for Adams had been disconnected.

Adams was director of the Information Systems Department, a position that pays about $95,000 a year, according to the 2018 county budget.

He was hired in 2010 by former County Judge Marilyn Edwards, according to records.

County Judge Joseph Wood didn’t return a message left on his cellphone Wednesday afternoon.

Lester said the county has and will continue to make changes to prevent similar occurrences. Information systems department employee Sidney Reynolds has been promoted to director, Lester said.

The Information Systems director runs and maintains county technology, including handling Internet issues, internal systems, telephones and application servers. Adams had about a $1 million budget for his office and oversaw about seven employees, according to records.

Adams has a court hearing set for March 16 in Washington County Circuit Court.

Adams