Tarrant County deputy constables accused of double-dipping

The chief deputy of the Tarrant County Precinct 8 constable was sentenced to five years’ probation Tuesday for working private security jobs at the same time he was being paid for county duty.

Another deputy working in the same office was charged Tuesday with a similar offense.

Precinct 8 Constable Michael Campbell on Wednesday declined to comment on the accusations.

“They are both retired,” Campbell said in a brief telephone interview Wednesday, referring to the deputies. “They no longer have anything to do with the county.”

Tarrant County criminal court records identified the chief deputy as Arnold L. Holmes, 61, of Fort Worth. As part of a plea agreement, Holmes was sentenced Tuesday on a charge of abuse of official capacity.

In addition to probation, Holmes must pay $6,660 in restitution.

Public records indicated Holmes was hired in July 1996 and the most recent county records show that he was paid $74,568 a year.

Deputy Hayward Charles Jr., 60, was charged with theft Tuesday. According to public records, Charles was hired in 2006, and the most recent county records show he was being paid $55,931.

The Tarrant County district attorney’s office began an investigation in November after a CBS 11 investigation showed deputies working as security guards at grocery stores when they were on county time.

“We are not commenting on these, as there are still two co-defendant cases pending,” said Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman with the district attorney’s office.

Four deputies and a part-time deputy were accused of working security jobs at Fiesta and Wal-Mart while being paid by the county.

In November, Campbell told CBS 11 that the double-dipping accusations were not true and that the deputies were at their security jobs while off-duty. He blamed disgruntled former employees for the “politically motivated” complaints. Campbell told CBS 11 that Holmes was responsible for approving “flex time” to avoid overtime issues.

Tarrant County officials noted that they cannot tell elected constables how to run their offices, but that they have the authority to go after money if there are discrepancies on time sheets.

Constable offices are responsible for such services as serving child support and custody orders, enforcing truancy laws and overseeing evictions.

Precinct 8 includes southeast Fort Worth neighborhoods.

Domingo Ramirez Jr.: 817-390-7763, @mingoramirezjr

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Tarrant County deputy constables accused of double-dipping."