A longtime library director faces charges after an audit found nearly $80,000 missing from the Cleburne County Library in Heber Springs, Arkansas. The investigation has been going for months. Read more below.

Special Agents with the Arkansas State Police (ASP) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) arrested the Director of the Cleburne County Public Library, Zackery Cothren, 47, following an investigation into the misuse of taxpayer funds.

ASP initiated the investigation on May 22, 2025, at the request of Drew Smith, Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixteenth Judicial District. An earlier Legislative Audit revealed questionable purchases and potential fraud by library employees.

On September 11, 2025, an arrest warrant was issued for Cothren on felony charges of Theft of Property and Abuse of Office. ASP CID Special Agents arrested Cothren at his residence in Cleburne County before transporting him to the Cleburne County Detention Center. Cothren was booked and later released on a $5,000 bond.

Cothren has served as Director of the library for 20 years. The investigation determined a loss of approximately $78,000 related to the misappropriation of public funds. 

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