Jonathon Conley worked five months as a supervisor at the Texas County Jail before he says he was forced to resign by Sheriff James Sigman and his chief deputy. He said he moved to Nevada to get away from the stress and drama of what had unfolded.

Two weeks ago, Conley said he received messages from former co-workers sharing that Sigman and Jennifer Tomaszewski had been arrested and charged with six felonies.

“My response was, ‘It’s about time,’” Conley said.

Conley said he witnessed first-hand questionable, unethical and sometimes criminal acts inside the jail from September 2017 until January 2018. He said they all involved Tomaszewski, who was promoted to jail administrator three months before Conley was hired.

Tomaszewski and Sigman, who a detective with the Missouri State Highway Patrol says were involved in an ongoing romantic relationship, were arrested July 18 while working inside the Texas County Justice Center. Both entered not guilty pleas last week. They were charged with first-degree felony assault, first-degree robbery, felony first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, felony unlawful use of a weapon, felony harassment, felony endangering the welfare of a child, second degree; misdemeanor misuse of official information by a public servant and misdemeanor false impersonation.

Conley was not surprised.

“There was a lot of stuff happening, especially with her name on it,” he said. “Of all the places I’ve ever worked, it was the most unprofessional and unethical place I’ve ever been. It’s no wonder 90 percent of the staff quit or were fired.”

Conley, 37, arrived at the Texas County Sheriff’s Department as an experienced officer. He worked two years for the California Department of Corrections and four with the Sharp County (Ark.) Sheriff’s Office as the head jailer and reserve deputy. He worked eight months at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking. Conley said that experience led to Sigman offering him a job after his interview.

“The sheriff took the tie clip from his uniform and gave it to me,” he said. “I felt honored.”

Those feelings, Conley said, didn’t last long.

Conley said he began to regularly observe “unethical and unprofessional” behavior from Tomaszewski, who he said “did not have the experience to be in the jail, much less running it.” She had been promoted by Sigman to jail administrator despite having no law enforcement background. She previously worked for a pet motel and local restaurant in Houston.

INTIMIDATION, MISTREATMENT OF INMATES

Conley said Tomaszewski used intimidation with both the inmates and staff to run the Texas County Jail. He said she attempted to incite inmates to get physical with her and encouraged them to fight each other. He also said she denied inmates she didn’t like, especially females, basic necessities. He also witnessed a juvenile child regularly inside the jail and among inmates.

“She got into the position and immediately felt the power she had over everyone,” Conley said, “and she abused it. What is someone going to do when the sheriff is on your side?”

The probable cause statement charging Tomaszewski referenced specific incidents when she threatened others. Among them was an inmate who in 2018 was antagonized by jail staff, namely Tomaszewski, and possibly struck by her. He was kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time and “generally treated inhumanely,” the patrol said.

Conley had already resigned by the time of the alleged incident, but he said he did witness Tomaszewski mistreat inmates. He said inmates were often denied items they requested.

“She would deny female inmates personal hygiene items if she didn’t like them,” Conley said. “Not giving female inmates their hygiene products is a crime in corrections.”

Conley said Tomaszewski held grudges against certain inmates.

“She didn’t like inmates because of their charges or just the way they would look at her,” he said.

Conley said he didn’t witness Tomaszewski become physical with inmates. In an incident after he had left, the patrol said Tomaszewski struck an inmate in the face with her elbows while he was unconscious and unable to resist.

But Conley said he did see Tomaszewski encourage violence in the jail.

“I was there numerous times when she got in inmates’ faces and tried to get them to jump. She would get nose-to-nose with them and curse and raise her voice to try to get them to attack her or do anything defensively,” he said.

“I was standing there when she told inmates she was tired of them arguing and they needed to hurry up and start fighting. She tried to incite violence among inmates.”

MINOR AT JAIL DAILY

Conley said he saw the jail being used as a ‘child care facility,’ as the patrol alleges in its charges. Authorities said Tomaszewski brought a minor to the jail on multiple occasions.

Conley said it was even more often. He said Tomaszewski’s 13-year-old daughter came to the jail every day after school.

“We were told we had to let her in,” he said. “She would camp out in the office or go into the kitchen where we had trustees. One did have a sex crime. All I could do was shake my head. It’s just not a place for a 13-year-old.”

Conley said he was the shift supervisor on Thanksgiving Day 2017, when the patrol said the minor helped serve meals to inmates and ate with two of them.

“I voiced my opinion to (Tomaszewski) and she said it was not my concern, to just go back to the office,” he said.

The patrol investigator obtained a jail visitor log showing the juvenile’s presence and serving meals. The name was scratched out by Sigman, who was described as angry there had been documentation of her visit.

“One of my staff members wrote it in the log and showed me,” Conley said. “The next day when we came in, it was marked out with a Sharpie by Sheriff Sigman.”

The patrol said Sigman regularly allowed Tomaszewski to illegally dispatch calls through the sheriff’s department with his badge number. She also reportedly wore a uniform indistinguishable from deputies and carried a department-issued Glock. She participated in ride-alongs and conducted search warrants, the patrol said.

Conley said he never witnessed those accusations, but he did notice something suspicious about Tomaszewski’s attire.

“She came in often with a holster on her duty belt, which I thought was weird because we didn’t carry guns at the jail,” he said.

The patrol alleges Sigman was involved in a romantic relationship with Tomaszewski beginning shortly after she was hired as a jailer in December 2016. They had the same home address in the charging documents.

“They showed no personal affection at the jail while I was present, but they were always with each other,” Conley said. “If one walked to the restroom, the other followed. I’m not exaggerating. They were always together.”

THREATS, POWER SHOW AT STAFF MEETING

Conley said his stint at the Texas County Sheriff’s Department ended in mid-January 2018. He said the entire jail staff was summonsed to a meeting to discuss policy. Instead, he said Tomaszewski accused him of speaking about her to inmates.

Conley said he denied the allegations then and still does. He said Tomaszewski wouldn’t listen.

“She exploded on me, basically calling me everything other than a human being,” he said. “She said she didn’t need these (expletives) working for her or the sheriff and if she was there when I supposedly said these things, she would have gotten multiple assault charges. She threatened me in front of 18 other people. It was a big power show in front of everyone.”

Conley said Tomaszewski’s reaction was the most angry one he has ever seen.

“She looked at me during this meeting with more hate in her eyes than I’ve seen from inmates trying to kill me in California,” he said. “She yelled at me, cursed me, defaced me and smeared my name in front of everyone that worked for Texas County.”

Conley said he resigned the next day. He said only one of his co-workers from his stint at the jail remains. The other 16-20 either resigned or were fired, he said. His name was among seven reviewed Jan. 24 by the county commission. All had resigned or been terminated.

Conley now lives in Nevada, where he works for Panasonic. He said he is looking for an opportunity to return to law enforcement.

Conley said when he learned of the charges against Sigman and Tomaszewski, he knew he had to publicly share what he had witnessed.

“I want to bring justice to the situation,” he said.