TAHLEQUAH – Former Delaware County Sheriff Mark Berry was charged Friday in Cherokee Nation Tribal Court with embezzlement, court records show.

Court records Berry is not in custody. His bail is set at $5,000.

According to an arrest affidavit, between July 2 and July 16, Berry used the county fuel card to purchase less than $50 worth of gasoline for a sheriff’s department vehicle and drove the vehicle to Kansas for a personal trip.  When Berry returned to Delaware County, a couch was observed in the pickup’s bed. Berry’s trip was approximately 992 miles.

Two Delaware County Sheriff’s deputies told Cherokee Nation investigators Berry requested them to come to his personal residence and unload the couch.

Berry took over the post as the county’s top law enforcement officer in December 2020 after a Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training released a ruling that “no adverse action is ordered against” him on allegations he falsified information on his CLEET application.

He resigned a year later at the conclusion of a meeting with Delaware County Commissioners.  Berry never gave a reason for his resignation and since the commissioner’s meeting was held in executive session the details of the meeting are confidential and not released to the public.