Selma city manager arrested. He allegedly misspent money when holding same job in Fowler

Selma’s city manager was arrested Wednesday on charges linked to personal use of a government credit card when he was city manager of Fowler, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office announced.

David Lawrence Elias, 56, was arrested on 13 counts of misappropriation of public money by a public officer, the DA’s office said.

Authorities said that in 2015 and 2016, while Elias was employed by the city of Fowler, he used city-issued credit cards to make more than 100 purchases that weren’t for city business. The DA’s office didn’t provide a total cost from those purchases.

Elias was hired as Selma’s city manager last spring. “His history with Fowler has been stellar,” Selma Mayor Mike Derr said at a meeting in April.

If convicted, Elias faces up to 16 years in prison, the DA’s office said.

This story was originally published November 15, 2017 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Selma city manager arrested. He allegedly misspent money when holding same job in Fowler."