Group submits petition to recall sheriff

A small group of Eureka-area residents have drafted a petition to recall Lincoln County Sheriff Daryl R. Anderson over what they allege was a failure to properly investigate a series of rape complaints.

The Lincoln County Recall Committee submitted the draft petition to county elections officials for approval this week, according to Diane J. Kaechele, the group's spokeswoman.

Elections officials have until Tuesday to accept or reject the petition, which must first be reviewed by the county attorney's office for legality and compliance with state statute, according to Assistant Election Administrator Leigh Riggleman.

If approved, the petition must be signed by 15 percent of residents registered to vote in Lincoln County's last general election - 1,946 people - to force a countywide special election with Anderson's recall on the ballot.

In the draft petition, the Lincoln County Recall Committee accuses Anderson of failing to investigate six rape complaints "completely, if at all."

Anderson, who was not available for comment Wednesday, has called the committee's allegations "not true."

According to a victim's advocate for Lincoln County Crisis Solutions, at least nine Eureka-area women have approached her office since May 2008 alleging rape. Six of the women reported the crimes to law enforcement, either the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office or Eureka Police Department, but one woman later withdrew her statement, she said.

Recall committee members believe some of the alleged rapes were committed by the same group of people. Alcohol and date-rape drugs appear to be common elements.

The draft petition accuses Anderson of botching an investigation by waiting to collect evidence and failing to secure the crime scene.

But a Lincoln County Sheriff's detective - who recalled working only one rape case, in March 2008 - said he couldn't give the recall committee's statistics any credibility.

If a rape was reported, it was investigated as thoroughly as evidence and victim or witness cooperation would allow, he said.

The recall committee also has expressed dissatisfaction with Anderson's handling of an April 2008 case where a black Labrador dog was found dead in the Tobacco River near the Pigeon Bridge off Montana 37.

But investigators said the case, which is still open pending additional leads, was blown out of proportion and evidence does not exist to support a theory that the dog was beaten and tortured.

The draft petition also accuses Anderson of denying a man a permit to carry a concealed weapon permit without a written statement of probable cause and hiring a deputy without sending him to the state's law enforcement academy.

Anderson, however, has said the weapon permit was denied because the applicant was involved with the Freeman uprising of 1996 in Eastern Montana. The deputy was only hired on a temporary basis, reportedly pursuant to state regulations, and is now a Lincoln County justice of the peace.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com