Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott Archives

Judge: Missouri Auditor can protect the indentity of whistleblower in Greene County complaint

December 5, 2019 By Ashley Byrd

In a challenge to whistleblower protection in Missouri, a Cole County circuit judge ruled against the Greene County Sheriffs office, in favor of State Auditor Nicole Galloway.

This comes from a 2017 case of whistleblower complaints about the use of public resources in Greene County in connection with a tax ballot issue.

In answer to a records request, the auditor did not share documents that would reveal whistleblower identities. Sheriff James Arnott sued.

The brief decision upholds the state whistleblower law that says, “Individuals who make a report under this section may choose to remain anonymous until the individual affirmatively consents to having the individual’s identity disclosed.”

In her response to the court’s ruling, Galloway stated, “Without the information provided by whistleblowers and the legal safeguards that shield those individuals, the audit of Greene County may not have happened.”

Man jailed without bond after Springfield crash kills three; sheriff calls him “a monster”

August 5, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

(Reporter Jason Rima at Missourinet Springfield affiliate KSGF contributed to this story)

The prosecutor’s office in southwest Missouri’s Greene County has filed three counts of second degree murder against a Springfield man accused of causing Saturday night’s deadly crash which killed three.

The crash happened at Kearney at Glenstone, killing Kimberly, Jamin and Braeden Seabert. The Greene County Prosecutor’s office has charged Andrew Matthew Lynch with eight felonies, including three counts of second degree murder.

Online court records show Lynch appeared in Greene County Circuit Court on Monday, pleading not guilty. Judge J. Ronald Carrier has ordered Lynch to be jailed without bond.

Missourinet Springfield affiliate KSGF reports Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott describes Lynch as “a monster”, saying Lynch was drunk and high on drugs at the time of the crash.

“This person’s (Lynch) a monster,” Arnott told reporters. “Because he didn’t come in and kill three people in their home, he still killed three people in their car. He set out to keep driving like he did, whether there was law enforcement behind him or not. The whole pattern and all the evidence shows that. And it’s disgusting.”

Sheriff Arnott says Lynch had been wreaking havoc for about 30 minutes on Saturday night, causing multiple crashes before he was spotted by deputies. The sheriff says deputies cancelled the pursuit after a Missouri State Highway Patrol helicopter began following Lynch. The deadly crash happened about 30 seconds later.

KSGF reports Lynch’s blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit, and that toxicology results show that Lynch allegedly had meth in his system.