OLIVIA — After a four-day jury trial and less than two hours of deliberation on Friday, a 12-member Renville County jury acquitted the former commander of the Brown-Lyon-Redwood-Renville Drug Task Force (BLRR DTF).

Jeffrey M. Morris, 41, of Hutchinson was acquitted of two counts of felony theft by swindle and one count of gross misdemeanor public officer misconduct.

Morris’ attorney Peter B. Wold of Minneapolis said the DTF was more effective under Morris than it was earlier.

“Charging him was a slap in the face by folks that didn’t know how the DTF works. It was a misguided proposition from the beginning,” said Wold. “The DTF is not a 9-5 job. They’re on call 24-7. To imply he (Morris) didn’t do his job was ridiculous. He was the DTF commander and on the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team. He wrote grants to get state money and worked at least 80 hours a pay period.”

State’s Attorney Anna E. Gusaas of the McLeod County Attorney’s Office did not comment on the case.

Morris was accused of falsely reporting hours he worked while employed as a Renville County deputy and serving as DTF commander and knowingly submitting false records. A complaint alleged Morris performed other activities but claimed work time.

Wold raised an entrapment defense, asserting Morris relied on advice from a government official that certain conduct was legal.

The first charge alleged 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 charge alleged Morris received $1,385 from Feb. 10, 2020 to March 2, 2020, based on time cards that he claimed to have worked 42 hours. An investigation by the Stearns county Sheriff’s Office, found he actually worked eight hours, according to the complaint.

In addition, the complaint alleged Morris was told in a 2019 performance review he was expected to record hours he actually worked on time cards.