Hounshell's Criminal Acts and Misconduct

By Criss Candelaria, Apache County Attorney

On May 25, 2004, an Arizona State Grand Jury indicted Hounshell on four felony counts; one count of theft, one count of fraud and two counts of misuse of government funds. The indictment was based upon an investigation by the Attorney General. The indictment was dismissed on claims of lack of venue in Apache County. Later an eleven count indictment was returned against Hounshell which subsumed the allegations in the first indictment and the investigation.

The first allegation was that Sheriff Hounshell had Apache County Sheriff's office employees working on his personal home while being paid by the county. For instance, Hounshell would have his secretary call the evidence technician and have him report to Hounshell's home to help him build shelves in his garage, repair the toilet at Hounshell's rental, mow the weeds in Hounshell's yard, drive Hounshell's son around for personal and school events.

Hounshell had county employees take his son to out-of-town doctors' appointments while being paid by the county. In fact, when his son was suspended from school for being involved in an alleged "Hit List" incident, Sheriff Hounshell had his secretary tutor his son every day in the Sheriff's Office during the work week. Hounshell even had his secretary drive Hounshell's son to Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona for a ten-day football weight lifting program while the county paid his secretary for baby sitting Hounshell' s son for ten days. Hounshell also used a county Sheriff's Office truck and funds to travel back and forth from Del Norte, Colorado, for court cases in which his son had been allegedly charged with aggravated assault. Hounshell and a county employee traveled to Phoenix in a Sheriff's Office truck pulling a Sheriff's Office trailer on the county's dime to purchase a personal truck for his son.

Sheriff Hounshell purchased a Polaris 4 wheeler ATV with department funds and had the Polaris delivered to his house. Sheriff Hounshell gave the ATV to his son to ride around town and outside of town. Hounshell used county funds to pay a county employee to come out on his day off to get gas for the ATV so that his son could ride on a weekend. Hounshell told the employee the ATV was a county vehicle so might as well use county gas and instructed the employee to go to the county yard to get gas for the ATV. Sheriff Hounshell also purchased several Polaris 6 wheeler ATV's using homeland security funds. He allowed his son and his son's friends to drive the ATV's around town and outside of town. The juveniles broke the driveline on one of the ATV's. Hounshell had a Sheriff's Office Sergeant take the ATV back to the dealer to get it repaired. Hounshell instructed the Sergeant to tell the dealer the ATV was damaged on a search and rescue mission.

Sheriff Hounshell had several county employees remodel his home to include hanging doors, sheet rocking and texturing walls and completely remodel a bathroom. The employees worked at Hounshell's home for days while being paid with Sheriffs Office funds. He also had the Sheriffs Office employees do repairs on his rental mobile home on department time. Hounshell traveled to Phoenix to get building materials to remodel his house with two other county employees while they were on duty. They used a Sheriffs office truck to transport the building materials and received county money for meals and the motel room. They also used a Sheriffs Office credit card for the fuel for this trip. Hounshell instructed the employees to tell anyone who asked about the trip, that they were getting building materials for a sub station. One of the employees stated, "I asked Hounshell, shouldn't we buy something for the sub station in case someone asks." Hounshell replied, "Who's going to question me, I'm the boss."

Hounshell had Sheriffs Office employees purchase tools that he needed to have to work on his personal home. He had them charge the tools to the County's Jail Enhancement Fund.

Hounshell traveled to Roosevelt Lake in the county truck with a county employee for a fishing trip. Hounshell obtained county money for meals and motel rooms for him and the county employee. They met three other off duty county employees at the lake. Hounshell transported beer in the Sheriffs Office vehicle and drove the Sheriffs Office vehicle after drinking beer. Photographs were taken of Hounshell in front of his Sheriffs Office truck holding fish in a net. They also have photographs of Hounshell drinking beer on the fishing trip while getting paid by the county for fishing. The four Sheriffs Office employees all stated there was no county business performed on this trip, "It was nothing more than a fishing trip," paid for with government funds.

Hounshell agreed to be Janet Napolitano's campaign manager for Apache County in order to gain favor with the soon to be Governor. He was supposed to campaign for Napolitano on his off duty time. Instead, he sent two county employees in a Sheriffs office truck to Phoenix to pickup up campaign signs for then Attorney General Janet Napolitano who was running for Governor. Hounshell only put out a small number of Napolitano's signs. He used the remainder of the Governor's signs for a dog run for an injured dog that had been hit by a car and kept the remaining T posts for his own campaign signs. Again, he used county funds, personnel and equipment for the trip to Phoenix for campaign purposes.

Hounshell purchased an enclosed 14' Haulmark trailer to transport his personal Harley Davidson Motorcycle, again using Homeland Security Funds. He had a Sheriffs Office employee go to his garage and measure his (Hounshell's) personal Harley Davidson Motorcycle and install tie downs in the trailer, again, at the county's expense. Hounshell has used the trailer and county truck to take his personal motorcycle to Mesa for service and repairs. He has also used the trailer and county truck to haul his motorcycle on rides. County employees videotaped Hounshell unloading his motorcycle at Chosa's Harley Davidson in Mesa, Arizona. County employees also photographed the same Homeland Security trailer on the Navajo Nation during election time with "Keep Hounshell Sheriff' signs and posters in it violating state and federal election laws.

Hounshell and a Sheriff's Office employee obtained an Elk Hunting permit from the Navajo Nation in Coconino County near Cameron, Arizona. Sheriff Hounshell and the county employee received meal money and motel money for the Elk scouting trip to Coconino County. They drove to Coconino County using the Sheriffs Office unmarked truck and county gas credit card. They stayed at the Cameron Motel claiming they were attending a meeting when actually they were on a scouting trip for the Elk Hunt. Hounshell had a county employee order him a spotting scope costing approximately $1,200.00 for the hunt and told the employee to pay for it out of the county's Special Response Team fund. Hounshell had instructed the same employee to purchase a GPS and Range finder for Hounshell's father for an earlier hunt. The employee was again instructed to use county funds for the purchase of more than $800.00 worth of hunting equipment for Hounshell's father. County employees reported that on a separate hunting trip in the mountains, Hounshell noticed one of the other hunters, a Sheriffs office employee, had some new warm socks that he liked. Hounshell telephoned his secretary at the Sheriffs Office and had her leave work to buy some of these socks from a store in Navajo County and drive them to his hunting camp.

There are many other allegations listed in the Attorney General's Office investigative reports that have not been charged, such as stealing petrified wood in a Sheriff's Office patrol unit and selling it at a Rock Shop in St. Johns, stealing gas from the county yard using a large metal drum, purchasing camouflage clothing and other items for hunting, filling out false demands for funds for trips to Phoenix for official business, when Hounshell actually was traveling to Phoenix for personal business on county funds and never conducted any county business on these trips. Hounshell also purchased hundreds of dollars worth of Apache County Official Honorary Deputy wallet badges with the individuals' names on the badges for his friends and dignitaries who could provide him political support and members of the media who support him. He used government funds to purchase these gifts (badges) to insure the individuals' continued support.

Hounshell married his current wife Annell on February 14, 1999, in Laughlin, Nevada. Hounshell traveled to Laughlin in the Sheriffs Office truck for his wedding and has traveled to Laughlin, Nevada for his Anniversary every year since, in the Sheriffs Office truck except for last year (probably because he had been indicted). Hounshell uses the Sheriff's truck to travel to the Hon Dah Casino in Navajo County, to Phoenix to go school clothes shopping and other places throughout the state for personal business. He claims that he is on call, so he can travel in the Sheriffs Office truck at the county's expense.

According to Sheriffs Office records, Sheriff Hounshell received hundreds of dollars from the Sheriffs office fund for meals he allegedly ate in Apache County during the first several months of his campaign for the 2004 election year.

Hounshell not only had the Sheriff's Office buy his uniforms, but he also had the Sheriffs Office buy his personal clothing that he wears on a day to day basis such as shoes, shirts, pants, jackets, hats, belts, socks, pocket knives and other clothing. He even changed the Sheriffs office policy so that he could buy dress suits for himself using the Sheriff's office funds, even though the county pays him a salary of over $89,000.00 a year.

The Attorney General's Office has numerous witnesses, lots of documentation including Travel Claims and Reconciliation forms, Receipts, photographs and video taped evidence of Sheriff Hounshell's illegal acts.

After Hounshell's indictment he was ordered by a Superior Court Judge to a report to any jail in the State of Arizona to be photographed and fingerprinted (Booked) for the four felony charges he was indicted on. He was ordered to send a copy of the photo's and fingerprints to the proper authorities. Sheriff Hounshell chose to be photographed and fingerprinted at the Apache County Jail. After his staff completed the booking and release process, Sheriff Hounshell had them remove his photograph and booking information from the law enforcement computer system. No other person booked into the Apache County Jail has had their booking information removed from the computer system. Removal of an official government document from an official government site is considered to be computer fraud under Arizona State Law.

Hounshell had the Sheriff's office staff remove the hard drives from his computer and his secretary's computer at the Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Hounshell has a Sheriff's office computer, printer, fax machine and desk at his house for his use. His son also has a Sheriff's Office computer desk in his bedroom.

Remember, these are just the crimes and acts of corruption where the evidence is overwhelming.

Despite the evidence, Hounshell remains County Attorney candidate Michael Whiting's dearest and closest advisor and friend during this year's election season. It is easy to conclude that Whiting will permit crime and corruption to thrive if he is elected.

© 2008 Criss Candelaria