Fire Chief Investigated For Misuse Of Funds
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A Gibson County fire chief is free on bond after being charged with stealing from his own fire department. The station chief of the Gann Fire Department is accused of taking every penny from the department’s fundraising account over the past nine months. Former Gann Fire Chief Andrew Mitchell would only speak to 7 Eyewitness News off camera, saying he needed the money and regrets taking it. He said he intended to return it. Gibson County Fire Chief Bryan Cathey said he first suspended Mitchell in the beginning of January over a money issue. Two weeks later, they asked him to turn over the department checkbook to the new chief. “I checked into the matter with the bank to close the account out, and reopened it in the other chief’s name and at that point in time we found out the account was overdrawn and it was possibly money missing,” Cathey said. The sheriff’s department soon arrested the 26-year-old for allegedly stealing all $2,800 of the Gann Fire Department’s fundraising money. They said Mitchell even overdrew the account by $80.33. “He at one point purchased an old pickup truck with part of the money and then turned around and scrapped it out for more money than he paid for it,” Cathey said. “He was making checks out to himself in the amount of $200, $300, that type thing. Don’t know what he was doing with all of it.” Cathey said Mitchell was taking the money for about nine months. He said he is shocked, since they do background checks before they recruit any volunteers. “We go in people’s houses when they have fires, and when they see us they’re having the worst day of their life and the last thing we need is a thief dressed as a fireman and making the situation worse. That cannot be tolerated, it will not be tolerated… It gives all firefighters a bad name.” Neighbors said they are upset over what happened. “The people on each side of me are real good people,” said neighbor Tommy Lunsford. “And to have him down there that close with the neighbors I’ve got that are good, and then him show off like that, I think that’s wrong.” The sheriff’s department said Mitchell has been released under $2,500 bond. His preliminary hearing is set for February 14 in General Sessions Court.
