The attorney for James Sigman, the embattled former sheriff of Texas County who faces six felony charges, alleged police misconduct Friday in the case against his client. He asked the court to drop all charges.
Jason Coatney, a Springfield attorney, submitted video evidence to Texas County Circuit Court as part of an 11-page motion on behalf of Sigman and his chief deputy, Jennifer Tomaszewski. The duo, who authorities said had an ongoing romantic relationship, are 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 and felony endangering the welfare of a child, second degree. Both are free on $500,000 bond but had their licenses immediately suspended by the director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety.
VIDEO FOOTAGE SUBMITTED BY JAMES SIGMAN’S ATTORNEY:
The motion — one in a series filed in recent days — comes in advance of a hearing Tuesday in Texas County Circuit Court. One of the filings involves Coatney. A special prosecutor wants him thrown off the cases.
The indictment against Sigman and Tomaszewski alleges that during the May 29 execution of a search warrant by the Missouri State Highway Patrol at the Texas County Sheriff’s Department, a file was missing from the folder of a mentally challenged inmate who had been assaulted Feb. 14 in the jail. The patrol said it was a looking for a hand-written report from a facility nurse, Wanda Etchason, who had observed the inmate after he had allegedly been assaulted by Tomaszewski.
The incident is one of several outlined in the July 18 indictment.
By the time troopers arrived for the search, the file documenting the incident had been altered and Etchason’s detailed report had disappeared, authorities said. The nurse told investigations she was alarmed at the injuries and worked to document them in a file in the medical office and the jail. The nurse reported the young man had contusions on his head and face, two black eyes and minor lacerations. Jailers said he had been unconscious. Etchason said she had created an anatomical sketch to also document the injuries.
Coatney says the file was missing because investigators and a nurse engaged in criminal conduct.
In the motion, Coatney said Sigman and two troopers entered the medical office at 9:33 a.m. to search for the medical/jail file of the inmate in question. He said the search ended six minutes later with the file not discovered. But video footage, Coatney alleges, shows Trooper Travis Hitchcock locating the file but not disclosing to Sigman or the other trooper that it had been located.
Texas County Sheriff James Sigman’s arrest photo after he was booked into the Greene County Jail on July 18, 2018.
Coatney said trooper Daniel Nash, who had allegedly spoken to Hitchcock after he exited the medical office, requested access to the room at 9:56 a.m. He said Nash walked where the inmate’s file was located and removed documents from the file. Coatney said Nash created a separate file and replaced an altered file of the inmate back in the location where he had removed the original.
Nash left the room at 10 a.m. with the new file containing only a portion of the inmate’s medical file, the motion alleges.
“There is no legitimate law enforcement purpose for Trooper Nash to rifle through (the inmate’s) file and separate it and create an alternate file,” the motion reads.
The following morning, Coatney said Etchason was observed on video with the file created by Nash as well as the original medical file in the medical office. The court motion said Etchason left the facility at 1:49 p.m. with the original inmate file.
Jennifer Tomaszewski’s mugshot from Shannon County following her arrest on six felony charges.
“(The inmate’s) file is now missing and presumed destroyed by Nurse Etchason,” Coatney wrote in his motion.
Etchason on Friday afternoon referred questions to her legal counsel in Rolla, which issued a response: “At this time we do not have any comment on the wild allegations put forth by Mr. Sigman’s and Ms. Tomaszewski’s defense attorney.”
Captain John Hotz, director of public information and education with the patrol, said the agency has no comment.
Coatney said the video footage was observed by Sigman after the execution of the search warrant. Coatney said the troopers involved “appear to be unaware of the surveillance system.” Sigman compiled the copies submitted on his behalf, Coatney said.
Coatney alleges Nash, Hitchcock and Etchason committed the Class E felony of tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence.