DONIPHAN — A longtime Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper has been placed on leave without pay after he recently was charged with more than a dozen felonies stemming from his alleged failure to pay about $83,000 in sales tax for his Doniphan restaurant.
Russell Brian Arnold was charged Dec. 3 with 15 unclassified felonies of failure to furnish a sales tax return by Matthew Weatherman, a special assistant prosecuting attorney for Ripley County.
Arnold was issued a criminal summons to appear in court at 9 a.m. Jan. 8 for arraignment before Associate Circuit Judge Thomas Davis Swindle.
Poplar Bluff Attorney Dan Moore entered an appearance in Arnold’s case on Monday and filed a waiver of arraignment and not guilty plea with the court.
“He was placed on leave without pay on Dec. 12,” according to Capt. John Hotz, director of the patrol’s Public Information and Education Division.
Arnold’s years of service with the patrol were not available by press time, but, in recent years, Arnold has been assigned to Troop G.
In addition to his patrol duties, Arnold was assigned to Troop G’s Marine Division patrolling Clearwater Lake.
Prior to transferring to Troop G, Arnold spent a majority of his career assigned to Troop E. In addition to his patrol duties, he served on Troop E’s marijuana eradication team for a period of time in the early 2000s.
The complaint filed in Arnold’s case alleges in the months between September 2017 through February 2018 and May 2018 through January, he, “with intent to defraud, willfully failed to pay sales tax.”
The charges stem from an investigation by the Missouri Department of Revenue and its Criminal Tax Investigation Bureau.
Arnold, according to Special Agent Abby Lakin’s probable-cause statement, is the “member/owner of Big D’s Bar-B-Q 2 LLC,” which operates on Leroux Street in Doniphan.
As a restaurant, Lakin said, Big D’s Bar-B-Q is required by law to collect sales tax on retail sales.
Arnold, she said, failed to “pay the sales tax due for 15 monthly periods …”
Lakin said Arnold is required by state statute to pay over the collected sales tax to the State of Missouri.
During a Feb. 25 interview, Lakin said, Arnold reported “he was aware that he did not pay over the collected sales tax and claimed he had fallen behind due to lack of business and other miscellaneous reasons.”
Lakin said on June 14, Arnold agreed to make contact with the Missouri Department of Revenue’s Revocation Department “in order to become compliant; however, these conditions were never met and contact was never made.”
The investigation, according to Lakin, revealed Arnold allegedly had the funds available for pay over the collected sales tax, but “chose to use those funds for personal and business expenses.
“As a result of the criminal acts committed by Russell Brian Arnold, the State of Missouri has incurred a loss in the amount of $83,195.44.”
That amount, Lakin said, includes a calculation of sales tax due, interest, additions and fraud penalties.