Cape Girardeau County sheriff to temporarily oversee coroner's duties

An order given by the courts Thursday, Feb. 8, gave Cape Girardeau County Coroner Wavis Jordan 10 days to issue a response to the state attorney general’s claims that he should be removed from office.

Wavis Jordan

It also said that during these 10 days, Jordan would not be allowed to perform any functions of the office, and would not be allowed into the office building.

Jordan will be paid during this 10-day period, according to Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers. The position pays $2,136 every two weeks, which equates to about $55,600 a year.

Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker said he will not be providing legal advice on the case, and the county will not be providing legal counsel in either the civil or criminal matter.

In the meantime, Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson will oversee the coroner’s duties.

Dickerson said Scott Wren has agreed to continue his duties as deputy coroner and will handle all calls unless he’s unavailable. In the event Wren is unavailable, Dickerson’s staff will assist with the duties of the coroner, she said. She said law enforcement has basic coroner training, adding “my investigators have more advanced training”. Dickerson said the temporary situation won’t cost anything additional to the department.

The AG’s office alleges that Jordan failed to perform his duty when he:

• stole property and attempted to steal property he was obligated to safeguard (a misdemeanor that he took less than $20 from a wallet);
• knowingly entered the wrong cause of death for three people;
• failed to properly investigate the causes and manners of death of several individuals;
• failed to take the necessary steps to be prepared to investigate causes and manners of death;
• failed to obtain blood from two individuals who died in separate motor vehicle accidents;
• solicited family members regarding the funeral arrangements of a deceased person.

The writ of Quo Warranto is the procedure by which elected officers can be removed from office in Missouri. According to Missouri statutes, any elected or appointed official in Missouri may be subject to removal if found to have made corrupt or fraudulent violations, or if they refused to perform official acts or duties required by law.

In addition to this civil procedure, Jordan was criminally charged with three Class E felony crimes for allegedly writing false reports on death certificates; and the misdemeanor theft charge.

When reached by the Southeast Missourian on Thursday, Jordan declined to comment, but said he wondered whether the actions against him were racially motivated.

Should the attorney general’s efforts to remove Jordan from office succeed, the governor would appoint a replacement until which time an election could be held. The coroner’s term ends this year. Filing for the election of coroner runs from Tuesday, Feb. 27, through Tuesday, March 26.

Earlier this year, the Cape Girardeau County Commission considered changing to a medical examiner rather than an elected coroner position. The commission placed a public call for proposals, but did not receive one to its liking.