OLIVIA — The former commander of the Brown-Lyon-Redwood-Renville Drug Task Force, accused of submitting false work hours and collecting pay, is scheduled for a March 7-11 jury trial in Renville County District Court.

Jeffrey M. Morris, 41, of Hutchinson, pleaded not guilty in November of 2020 to two felony counts of theft by swindle and gross misdemeanor public officer misconduct. He was released on his own personal recognizance after the court appearance.

Felony charges accuse Morris of falsely reporting hours he worked while employed as a Renville County deputy and serving as task force commander. The gross misdemeanor charge accuses him of knowingly submitting false records as a public officer.

At the request of Renville County, an investigation by a Stearns County Sheriff’s officer led to the charges. The complaint alleges Morris performed other activities but claimed work time.

The first theft by swindle charge alleges Morris received $7,054 in public funds from Aug. 26, 2019, through Feb. 10, 2020, in Renville County based on time cards in which he claimed to have worked 214 hours but actually worked 47 hours.

The second theft by swindle charge alleged Morris received $1,385 from Feb. 10, 2020, to March 2, 2020, based on time cards he claimed to have worked 42 hours. The investigation found he actually worked eight hours.

The complaint alleges Morris was told in a July 2019 performance review he was expected to record hours he actually worked on time cards.

Morris had a work cell phone that he used for personal communications. In addition, he had an official vehicle equipped with a radio that activates when the vehicle is turned on, and as a portable radio.

The complaint alleges a review of electronic devices used by Morris including a cell phone, laptop computer and vehicle electronics indicated he was not performing work for submitted hours while at home.

The complaint alleged Morris submitted time for work on Nov. 20, 2019, when he was driving to South Dakota a day ahead of scheduled time off for a hunting trip.

In another incident, GPS data showed Morris left Hutchinson to go to Nicollet and New Ulm, between 12:21 p.m. and 2:23 p.m. An investigator determined Morris went to Schmidt’s Meat Market in Nicollet and dropped off meat for processing on Nov. 27, 2019, but claimed eight hours on his timecard for that day.