Two misdemeanor charges filed against Belle mayor
BELLE, Mo. (KMIZ)
A pair of misdemeanor charges have been filed against the mayor of Belle, according to the Maries County prosecutor and sheriff.
Daryl White Jr. was charged with misdemeanor stealing and official misconduct. The charges are in the process of getting transferred to the Circuit Clerk, according to Maries County Prosecutor Tony Skouby. A summons will be issued for White and an initial court appearance is set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman stated in a Facebook post that additional charges could be be filed and that the investigation is ongoing.
"This investigation is still ongoing and I expect it to last several months," Heitman wrote in the post. "My office is obtaining additional subpoenas for possible additional evidence of criminal activity. We seized a lot of financial records that will take awhile to go through them all."
Law enforcement has not heard from White, a day after a search of Belle City Hall was conducted.
Heitman said Wednesday that his office received a report of stolen items and obtained a search warrant for financial records and other evidence. Deputies took several documents from city hall, including financial records, Heitman said.
Two businesses are listed as "active" registered to a Daryl White in Belle: White Motor Company Auto Glass, L.L.C. and Satellite Apartments & Trailer Park, LLC.
City Hall was closed for the day because of the search.
According to the probable cause statement, White was allegedly seen taking several spray cans from the city’s road department garage. The statement also says a witness allegedly told law enforcement to check financial records and accused White of “misusing the city’s credit card again.”
The statement says the head of Belle Public Works did not authorize the purchase of the spray paint. A redacted source in the probable cause statement and claimed White had one of his employees order the paint from one of his friends and that the city did not need to paint.
Court documents also state that Kimball Midwest, the company the items were purchased from, did not have an account with the city. The items were allegedly ordered in September.
A city employee claimed they saw White take a box containing 12 spray cans from the city’s road department garage and hasn’t seen the items since they were taken, court documents say.
The Maries County Sheriff’s office obtained a packing slip that allegedly showed the items were shipped to the city on Sept. 26 and included 36 cans of paint (including 12 spray paint cans), three cans of lubricant and 100 cable ties, the statement says.
The documents also claims law enforcement obtained the City of Belle’s bills that needed to be paid from October, which included a $477.97 purchase from Kimball Midwest.
The statement also claims White took a gun from Belle’s police department. The statement claims then-Police Chief Jerry Coburn – who is currently the Marshal – saw White take the gun in November 2022. The statement claims White saw a gun with a masonic emblem and stated he was taking it home in November 2022.
The chief claimed in the statement that he knew it was wrong, but didn’t stop White in fear of losing his job. The statement says the gun was placed back into the locker by Dec. 19, 2023.
Another person in the statement claimed White asked him if he could have some paint, but didn’t realize he would take the whole case, the document says.
White had allegedly told law enforcement on Wednesday that he would arrive at City Hall, but never showed during the search. The statement claims White was “found stealing from the city while he was Mayor” in 2007. It claims the City Council opted not to file charges because the money was paid back and White agreed to resign.
In addition to this investigation, a petition was filed by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office alleging that the City of Belle violated open meeting laws.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday and a summons was issued for the City of Belle on Wednesday. The city must respond within 30 days.
The petition claims the city did not post properly Board of Aldermen agendas or keep meeting minutes. The lawsuit claims this has affected residents' ability to attend meetings.
The lawsuit claims, “Mayor Darryl White has failed to ensure that the Missouri Open Meetings Law has been complied with.”
Check back for more updates to this developing story.
