City of Belle claims no sign of missing funds or misuse of guns amid mayor’s charges
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Belle released a statement Wednesday saying that no money is missing from its bank accounts and that none of its guns are missing or have been misused.
This comes after Mayor Daryl White Jr. was charged with misdemeanor stealing and official misconduct for allegedly misusing the city’s credit card, stealing paint cans and taking a gun.
The Maries County Sheriff’s Office searched Belle City Hall on Dec. 20. Deputies, however, could not find White. A Board of Aldermen agenda states that James Mitchell was named the mayor pro tem.
A criminal summons for White was issued on Dec. 21 and an initial court appearance is set for 9:30 a.m. Feb. 13. The city stated in the release that it would not comment on White’s charges.
The city wrote in a Wednesday news release that it is considering having an outside audit of its funds.
According to a probable cause statement, White was allegedly seen taking several spray cans from the city’s road department garage. The statement also says a witness 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 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 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.
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.
The city stated in the release that there is no indication of misuse of the gun.
Attorney General lawsuit
The city in the release also addressed its recent lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office.
The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 19 and claims the city did not properly post notices of Board of Aldermen meetings, provide detailed meeting agendas or keep meeting minutes. The lawsuit claims this has affected residents' ability to attend meetings and that a vote occurred improperly during a closed session.
The lawsuit claims, “Mayor Darryl White has failed to ensure that the Missouri Open Meetings Law has been complied with.”
The city was served a summons on Dec. 27.
In the Wednesday release, the city claims that closed sessions are “generally not subject to disclosure under the Sunshine Law.”
