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WOODWARD — Not long after Woodward County Sheriff Les Morton was read a 20-count indictment accusing him of padding his expense account, the mood among local officials was somber.

A clean-cut sheriff's official dressed in what appeared to be Vietnam-era Army green fatigues leaned over the dispatch counter in the basement of the Woodward County Courthouse. He looked down as he reviewed Oklahoma's open records laws before releasing the sheriff's booking photo to the media.

"According to this, we have to give it to them,” he said, shaking his head. "I don't want to. But according to this, we don't have a choice.”

He gave the secretary a nod, and she pressed the "print” button, producing the mug shot of Morton, who is accused of misspending about $17,000 in taxpayer money.

The 54-year-old sheriff faces one count for each month that he filed expense reports between July 2003 and February 2005.

A Woodward County grand jury also recommended Morton be suspended immediately and ultimately removed from office.

Morton was supposed to have been in court at 11 a.m. to surrender, according to a previous agreement with the attorney general's office. But after the sheriff failed to show up on time, officials with the attorney general's office had to leave the district courtroom to locate Morton and escort him upstairs.

Morton smiled and shook hands and greeted a few people as he made his way before District Judge Ray Dean Linder.

Linder began to read the counts against the sheriff after Morton said he'd "like to hear them,” but the sheriff soon said that all 20 counts "all sound like the same thing.”

After Linder finished, the 12-year veteran sheriff was led out of the courtroom to be booked into his own jail. He returned moments later — wearing handcuffs — to hear Linder announce that he was suspended from office immediately.

Bail was set at $100,000, or $5,000 for each count.

Defense attorney Mack Martin said later his client was "pretty shocked” by the indictment.

"We're not guilty. We intend to fight this all the way,” Martin said.

This isn't the first time Morton has been in trouble over expense issues covering the same period.

In 2005, county commissioners asked the state auditor to look into Morton's travel practices after they learned of a 10-day trip he took to California with a female friend to pick up a prisoner. That trip, which cost taxpayers more than $1,500, featured a roundabout way home with several stops to shop for antiques.

Morton ultimately repaid the county $6,954 and changed his own travel policy. In return, special prosecutor Gene Christian agreed not to file criminal charges.

But a prosecutor said the sheriff, who officially makes about $50,000 a year, only paid about half of what they say was owed, and an audit uncovered additional questions about reimbursements.

Assistant Attorney General Joel-Lyn McCormick said she wasn't involved in the previous investigation and couldn't comment on the decision not to file charges then.

She said the indictment covers about $10,000 more than Morton repaid. It also involves allegations that Morton kept a travel allowance intended to cover his vehicle expenses, even though he had use of a county-owned car.

While the grand jury was concerned about an apparent lack of checks and balances that allowed Morton reimbursements without proper documentation, McCormick said, there was no evidence that anyone else at the county had any criminal intent in issuing the reimbursements.

As for what happens next, Ralph Triplett, chairman of the county board of commissioners, said Morton has not been removed from office yet, and is only suspended, pending further court proceedings.

Triplett said he thought the undersheriff would step into the department's lead role for now.

Morton was elected sheriff in 1996. Before that, he was a Woodward police lieutenant.

He is scheduled for formal arraignment at 10 a.m. April 14.

Contributing: Staff Writer Tony Thornton