Finance manager at Spokane County Jail terminated following investigation

The finance manager at the Spokane County Jail was let go from his job last month following an internal investigation.

Arlington Richards oversaw the $47 million budget of Spokane County Detention Services, the department that includes the downtown jail and the Geiger Corrections Center on the West Plains. He was placed on paid administrative leave when the investigation began March 19.

This week, the county released a letter from the department’s director, John McGrath, stating that Richards, 47, was “terminated effective immediately” on April 9.

The county has not released other records related to the investigation, which was not criminal in nature. Details of the original complaint remained unclear Friday. County spokesman Jared Webley said he could not comment on personnel matters.

Richards said Friday that he resigned voluntarily. He started working for the county in 2004, joined Detention Services as finance manager in 2007 and was slated to make more than $82,000 in 2018.

“I felt I was being targeted for benign activities on my personal time, and I chose to resign and put Detention Services behind me and move on with my life,” he wrote in a text message.

He declined to comment further.