JEFFERSON CITY - In a desperate attempt to garner sensational media headlines, Jay Nixon sent three of his attorneys general to a state office building in Jackson County to apprehend a suspect in a federal identity theft case even though she no longer worked there.

Even though suspect Robin Deardorff had been fired from the Department of Social Services on June 11, Nixon mistakenly directed his staff to apprehend her at the agency’s Jackson County location on June 13. Instead of going directly to the suspect’s home, Nixon’s Keystone Kops unsuccessfully tried to lure her back to the agency which could have put state employees at risk.

To add insult to injury, Nixon’s crack communications staff issued a media release with information provided by their boss incorrectly stating that Deardorff was still a state employee. 

“It is appalling that Jay Nixon — the state’s supposed chief law enforcement officer — had absolutely no clue where a key suspect in a major identity theft case worked and then made things worse by issuing a media release that incorrectly identified the suspect as a state worker,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party. “Nixon’s lust for sensational headlines ended up leading to a Keystone Kops approach to law enforcement that is both embarrassing to Missourians and could potentially have jeopardized the arrest of Deardorff and put at risk the safety of state workers.”

Deardorff  is one of seven individuals facing federal indictments for stealing the identities of the mentally disabled and other group home residents that  allowed Missouri inmates to make thousands of dollars in free calls from prison. Prisoners in Missouri can only make collect calls.