A former Shannon County Sheriff’s Department employee is charged in a computer tampering case that reached into Texas County, authorities said.
Lettina R. Reese, born in 1974, of Birch Tree, is charged with two counts of forgery, a class D felony; and tampering with computer data, a class A misdemeanor.
Reese previously worked for the Shannon County Sheriff’s Department and allegedly tried to access confidential information after her employment ended in October, according to court documents.
According to a report, Reese sent emails on Jan. 1 to the Shannon County Treasurer’s Office seeking access to “restricted information systems utilized by the Shannon County Sheriff’s Office.”
She is accused of having falsely represented herself as the sheriff office’s “dispatch director, communications, TAC officer” and used the sheriff’s office phone number in her communications to make it appear she was still employed by the agency.
The report says Reese’s employment ended Oct. 8, 2025.
In addition, the statement also alleges Reese made statements on a recorded line to a Texas County 911 business number to obtain information not publicly available by misrepresenting her credentials and claiming she was acting in an official capacity.
The statement notes that Reese allegedly contacted multiple agencies to request confidential information “not available to the public for personal gain and use,” and says she has authored at least nine books using such material.
According to a press release from Steven Hogan, Shannon County sheriff, a search warrant was executed at her residence on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
“The office of sheriff will continue to uphold and enforce the law without regard to position, title, or past affiliation,” Hogan said in the statement. “Accountability under the law applies equally to all, and no individual is exempt from investigation or enforcement when credible allegations arise.”
Reese is held in the Phelps County Jail on $5,000 bond.