McALESTER — Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris was charged twice Friday with receiving a bribe.

The Republican, who is up for reelection, denies wrongdoing.

Morris was first charged May 14 in Pittsburg County District Court with embezzlement of state property. A special prosecutor on Friday added a bribery count to the existing case and filed another bribery count as a new case.

Pittsburg County commissioners have called for his removal. A jury trial on their request is set for July. A judge will decide next Thursday if he will be suspended until then.

The sheriff has complained commissioners sought his removal after only hearing one side of the story.

“I’ve done nothing wrong and I am concentrating on winning the election on June 18th and my day in court,” he wrote in a statement on Facebook.

Charge earlier this month stemmed from utility task vehicle purchase

He was accused May 14 in the embezzlement case of unlawfully arranging for the sheriff’s office to purchase a damaged utility task vehicle (UTV) he had owned so he could get a new one for himself.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation began looking into the $31,099 purchase after the county clerk became suspicious.

He was accused Friday in the added bribery count of letting an accessory, a lift kit, be installed at a discount on the UTV while he still owned it.

The special prosecutor alleged the sheriff told Advantage Truck and Auto to charge the county more for new bed covers for hail-damaged sheriff vehicles in exchange for the personal discount.

He was accused Friday in the new bribery case of accepting free hail damage repair to his Toyota 4Runner. The special prosecutor alleged he promised in exchange to use McAlester Auto Collision in the future for repairs of sheriff vehicles.

Morris, 50, of McAlester, was first elected in 2016 as sheriff of Pittsburg County, which is in southeast Oklahoma. He was a Democrat in his first race but was reelected as a Republican in 2020. He will be reelected again if he wins the GOP primary election in June.

“Election interference is not only happening in our great nation, but it is happening right here in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma,” Morris said after he was charged May 14. “This is an orchestrated event, planned to make me look bad just weeks before the election. The truth will come out. It is paramount that you keep a strong sheriff with proven leadership for our county.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma sheriff accused of bribery as primary election looms