On Tuesday, March 24, the Searcy County Sheriff's Office transferred eight (8) Searcy County inmates to the Arkansas Department of Corrections in Malvern. This currently leaves the Searcy County Detention Center with 15 inmates which is the lowest the population has been since Cassell took office in January of 2019.

  According to Searcy County Sheriff Kenny Cassell, the inmate transfer was due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation. Cassell said the transferred inmates were Jonathan Manning, Ryan Treat, Shane Middleton, Michael McManus, Bradley Ayers, Michael Smith, Billy Harness and Joshua Snow.

Cassell said he was assisted in the inmate transfer by members of the jail staff which included Tracy Sutterfield, Jonathan Baysinger and David Williams. Cassell explained the staff loaded the inmates into two vehicles at approximately 4:30 a.m. and drove them to Malvern.

"The Arkansas Department of Corrections has seen the crunch that a lot of sheriff's offices across the state are facing and have been working with us to help alleviate jail crowding since the COVID-19 outbreak. This allows us the opportunity to ensure inmates are safe and frees up more bed space within the jail."

Cassell extends his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Arkansas Department of Corrections for assisting his office with these transfers and his jail staff for their professionalism in performing the transfer.