Jasper County drops investigation against former sheriff

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Jasper County commissioners have decided against pursuing further action against former sheriff Bill Pierce.

Pierce resigned in July amid an investigation by the Missouri Attorney General's office into the private business he operated at the jail in Carthage. He also was questioned about $2,000 in Jasper County Drug Task Force funds that were never put into the county treasury.

Because the missing money incident dated back to 1997, Commissioner Chuck Surface said Thursday that the statute of limitations has run out.

The attorney general's office had reached the same conclusion. It ended its investigation without filing charges after Pierce stepped down.

"If it's not winnable -- and the state apparently thought that -- why should we spend county money on it?" Commissioner Jim Honey said. "We have a new sheriff, and we need to move forward."

Archie Dunn, who campaigned as an independent candidate, won a special election on Sept. 30. He had spent 31 years with the Missouri State Highway Patrol before retiring three years ago.

Dunn will serve through December 2004.