MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An employee with the Shelby County Clerk’s Office has been indicted on a misconduct charge.
Erica Askew, 38, has been charged with one count of official misconduct.
Witnesses said law enforcement showed up Thursday afternoon at the Shelby County Clerk’s office location on Mullins Station to arrest Askew.
According to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, Askew signed the name of a purported seller onto an affidavit of non-dealer transfers of motor vehicle and boats sometime between July 15 and July 26, 2020.
The transfer was in regards to a 2019 Dodge Challenger. Askew was not authorized to sign the seller’s name.
The indictment says this act “constituted an unauthorized exercise of official power,” and that Askew was acting “with the intent to obtain a benefit or harm another.”
Askew was taken into custody Thursday. According to the Shelby County jail site, she was later released on her own recognizance.
An official from the Tennessee Department of Revenue testified in her case, but the department declined to comment any more on the circumstances of the arrest.
Those visiting the clerk’s office Monday were already frustrated about long lines and other challenges WREG has been covering.
Clerk Wanda Halbert held a news conference earlier this week, blaming her issues getting new plates out to people on a lack of funding from the County Commission. Halbert is also up for reelection next month.
