WAYNESVILLE, Mo.- A Pulaski County Judge has found former Texas County Sheriff James Sigman and Deputy Jennifer Tomaszewski guilty of forgery charges.
Sigman only had one count of forgery, and Tomaszewski had two counts of forgery. Tomaszewski faced other charges, but those were dropped.
The forgery charge for Sigman involve approving a timecard in April 2018 for Tomaszewski for hours she didn’t work. The two charges for Tomaszewski include that April incident and another timecard incident in February 2018.
Judge John Beger set a sentencing date for October 22.
Sigman was charged for allegedly allowing Tomaszewski to act as an officer when she was not authorized. Court records say she at times attempted to gain information through a state law enforcement database, attacked a mentally unstable inmate, pointed a loaded weapon at a 1-year-old child and exposed a minor to “sexually violent offenders and other dangerous criminals.”
The investigator on the case testified phone, class, and work records didn’t match up. This came together to try to show Tomaszewski wasn’t at work when she said she was.
Judge John Beger said there was enough evidence to show both Sigman and Tomaszewski knew the timecards were false. Special Prosecutor Don Trotter said while he was disappointed with the outcome of the trial, it was a fair trial.
Trotter said the sentence the pair could face could vary.”Normally people with first-time offenses usually get probation of some type on this type of conviction,” Trotter said.
The two were arrested after they were indicted by a grand jury, following an investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol.
As the trial began Monday, Sigman waived what was originally supposed to be a jury trial and is now a bench trial.
Tomaszewski is also being tried with Sigman, and she waived a jury trial.
The documents state that Sigman and Tomaszewski were involved in a romantic relationship since “very near the time she was initially hired at the Sheriff’s Office.”