The man chosen to replace Michael Dixon as Osage County sheriff has resigned.
Lt. Ron Dishman, the chief deputy of the department, handed in his resignation Thursday afternoon to Presiding Commissioner Dave Dudenhoeffer.
"It's left us scratching our heads," Dudenhoeffer said. "He didn't give us a reason."
Dishman replaced Michael Dixon Jr. as sheriff in May.
"He was supposed to stay through the rest of the year," Dudenhoeffer said.
Initially, Coroner Lois Jaegers was appointed as the acting sheriff, but commissioners appointed former Sheriff Carl Fowler later Friday morning. Dudenhoeffer said Fowler has agreed to serve until a new sheriff is elected in November.
"I want to let the public know that all the duties of the sheriff's office are being taken care of and nothing is being over looked as far as public safety," Dudenhoeffer said.
Dixon didn't file for re-election earlier this year and Dishman was not one of the four candidates running to succeed the first-term sheriff. Mike Bonham won this week's Republican Primary and Chris Albert won the Democratic Primary.
Dishman had filed to run as an independent candidate for sheriff in November's general election, but Osage County Prosecutor Amanda Grellner asked the Missouri Highway Patrol to investigate his residency. She confirmed that investigation found Dishman's real and personal property taxes were assessed in Phelps County. State law requires sheriff candidates to be residents of the county in which they are running for more than one year before filing.
The Osage County Clerk confirmed Friday that Dishman had withdrawn from the November ballot.
Under an agreement, Dixon pleaded guilty July 1, 2014, to a misdemeanor harassment charge involving incidents in Belle in 2012 and 2013.
Special Prosecutor John Beger had charged Dixon with a felony and several misdemeanors, all reportedly connected with a female Belle police officer Dixon had supervised when he was the city's marshal, before becoming Osage County sheriff on Jan. 1, 2013.
Now-retired St. Louis County Judge Richard Bresnahan, who had been appointed as a special judge in the case, suspended the imposition of any sentence and ordered Dixon to serve the two-year supervised probation.
Among several special conditions Dixon faces was to "not possess or consume alcohol nor be in a business the primary purpose of which is the sale of alcohol, except to carry out (the) duties (of) a law enforcement officer."
However, on April 8 this year, Boone County prosecutors charged Dixon with unlawful use of a weapon, accusing him of pointing a weapon at another person in a Hartsburg bar March 5, after drinking alcohol there.
The charge is a Class D felony. If he's convicted, Dixon automatically would lose his state peace officer's license, and he could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.
Dixon pleaded not guilty May 2, and is to appear again in Boone County Circuit Court next Thursday for a preliminary hearing in that case.