Judge Removes Embattled Panola County Sheriff from Office

CARTHAGE — A special-appointed judge ruled Thursday that embattled Panola County Sheriff Ron Clinton will be suspended with pay. During a hearing in Carthage, Judge Diane DeVasto ordered the county to continue paying Clinton, said defense attorney David Moore. “The state had asked he be suspended without pay,” Moore said, according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. The judge gave the defense until May 14 to respond to a petition filed Tuesday by Panola County District Attorney Danny “Buck” Davidson for Clinton’s removal from office, Moore said. Another hearing has been set for May 16. DeVasto appointed Panola County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Kevin Lake as interim sheriff, Moore said.

DeVasto, a former justice on the 12th Court of Appeals, was appointed to preside over the case, and members of the Smith County district attorney’s office are prosecuting it. Davidson and 123rd District Court Judge Charles “Brick” Dickerson recused themselves from the case.

Clinton was arrested Feb. 28 by Texas Rangers and FBI agents on charges of tampering with a government record, abuse of official capacity and theft by a public servant. The charges stem from what prosecutors allege were Clinton’s failure to repay a travel advance and a scheme to use county money to repay it, which involved instructing an informant to lie. After the hearing Thursday, Moore said, “We still maintain we are innocent. We have not been indicted. We understand there is a grand jury in place in Carthage. Hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to address the grand jury ourselves. We hope that would be a two-way street.”