A federal judge has rescheduled Hot Spring County Sheriff Scott Finkbeiner‘s jury trial on drug-related charges for Aug. 19.
The trial will be held in U.S. District Court in Hot Springs before Judge Susan O. Hickey.
Finkbeiner, a Republican, remains the county sheriff but is not allowed to perform any of his official activities related to law enforcement. He is charged with obstruction of justice and drug-related crimes.
Authorities have accused the sheriff of witness intimidation and smoking meth, which he allegedly offered to an undercover informant. The drug charges against him are deliberate concealment of a drug distribution crime and deliberate concealment of the maintenance of a drug-involved premises.
Finkbeiner also is charged on the state level with sexual solicitation, a misdemeanor, and unauthorized use of the Arkansas Criminal Information Center, a felony.
The center allows users to search for information on everything from missing persons to sex-offender registries to criminal records. Access to much of the center’s data is “restricted to governmental criminal justice officials for criminal justice purposes,” the center’s website notes.