Former Arizona sheriff’s candidate sentenced
KINGMAN, Ariz. — Michael D. Hays, a Coconino County resident who fraudulently ran for sheriff in Mohave County in northwest Arizona, was sentenced Friday to probation for three years and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service .
Prosecutor Mike McGill said Hays, 50, was working for the Arizona Department of Corrections and lived in Flagstaff when he falsely claimed Mohave County residency on voter registration papers in 2010 and 2011. Hays folded his campaign for sheriff and eventually pleaded guilty to false voter registration and tampering with a public record.
Judge Derek Carlisle said a corrections officer should be held to a higher standard and know better than to perpetrate a fraud upon the public.
The convictions will be designated as misdemeanor offenses upon successful completion of probation.
