The judge who’s deciding whether a western Iowa county attorney and sheriff should be removed from office has delayed that ruling. Judge Robert Hutchinson says he will issue separate rulings in the trial of Cass County Attorney James Barry and Sheriff Larry Jones, only after the Jones trial has concluded. Last week, Hutchinson indicated he might have a written ruling in the Barry case as early as 1:30-p.m. yesterday, the same time the Jones trial was to get underway. But that never happened. During the first day of testimony in the Jones case, the court heard from Cass County Civil Processor Stephanie Witzmann, who said Jones has kept a low profile since the investigation into his office. State Auditors Annette Campbell and Ernest Ruben testified their office identified over 11-thousand dollars in improperly distributed funds from the Sheriff’s office, and a 250-dollar check endorsed by the Sheriff that was supposed to be donated to the Sheriff’s department as part of a plea bargain. The money has not been accounted for.
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