Poplar Bluff officer faces stealing charges

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) -- A Poplar Bluff police officer is charged with stealing, after allegedly taking about $13,000 from a bank account for a police organization.

Patrolman Joe Craft, a nine-year department veteran, was fired Friday after he was arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Craft, 35, was charged in Butler County on Thursday with three counts of stealing, after being questioned about allegations he stole more than $13,000 from the Poplar Bluff Fraternal Order of Police No. 48.

A current member of the organization at the time of his arrest, he previously held the offices of treasurer and vice president for the group in Poplar Bluff.

He was released on bond and will be arraigned Oct. 4. A listed number for Craft could not be located for comment, and a court official said he does not yet have a lawyer listed in court records.

The court complaint alleges on March 13, April 9 and June 14, Craft appropriated at least $500 in funds from the Poplar Bluff Fraternal Order of Police without the organization's consent.

The patrol's investigation was conducted at the request of Police Chief Danny Whiteley, after officers with the fraternal order told him this summer about unauthorized withdrawals.

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Information from: Daily American Republic: http://info.darnews.com/