CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Sublette County Sheriff Stephen Haskell faces felony charges alleging he billed the county for uniform purchases placed before he took office early last year.

Natrona County District Attorney Mike Blonigen, acting as special prosecutor, on Tuesday filed three felony and two misdemeanor charges against Haskell in Sublette County Circuit Court.

“I am completely blindsided by these allegations and charges,” Haskell said in a statement released by the sheriff’s office. He added he looks forward to being cleared.

Haskell noted that agents with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation questioned him about the uniform purchases just weeks after he filed a lawsuit last August against Sublette County Clerk Mary Lankford alleging she was interfering in the operation of the sheriff’s office. Lankford’s husband Dave Lankford served as sheriff before Haskell’s election.

Haskell also said he had understood from county commissioners that they saw nothing improper with how he handled the uniform purchases.

“The only people who truly suffer are the citizens of Sublette County,” Haskell said. “I was elected to perform a specific function as the sheriff of this county, and because I have opinions that differ from theirs, this is how I am treated. It’s a shame that when someone stands up for the people, this is what happens.”

Haskell is set for a preliminary court appearance on Feb. 11 before Circuit Judge Curt A. Haws of Pinedale. Court records don’t reflect that Haskell is represented by a lawyer yet.

Agents with DCI booked Haskell into the Sweetwater County Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon on Haws’ orders, Sweetwater County Sheriff Mike Lowell said. Lowell said Haskell was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

Haskell drew criticism when he took office early last year when he prohibited deputies from wearing cowboy hats and cowboy boots and instituted a standard uniform including black trousers, a tan shirt and black, lace-up boots.

Brad Wnuk, an agent with DCI, filed a statement in the circuit court to support the criminal charges against Haskell. Wnuk stated that the Sublette County Commission had requested an investigation into Haskell’s billing of more than $11,000 for uniforms.

According to Wnuk’s statement, several county commissioners had questioned why Haskell and some top-ranking officers in the department were already wearing the new uniform when Haskell was sworn in as sheriff on Jan. 5, 2015.

“The commissioners make clear that any items ordered before the swearing in would be Haskell’s personal debt and responsibility,” Wnuk stated, adding that Haskell agreed and acknowledged that any items ordered before that date would be his responsibility.

Wnuk stated that the county agreed in February 2015 to cover more than $11,000 in uniform purchases based on Haskell’s representation that they were ordered after he was sworn in. Wnuk stated that he checked with two companies that supplied the uniforms and found that they had been ordered in late 2014, in the months before Haskell took office.

Wnuk stated that he had obtained a recording of a call that Haskell placed to a uniform supplier a few days after he was sworn in asking the supplier to change the date on his order to reflect that it had been placed after Jan. 5, “so that the invoices would be paid by the county.”

Blonigen said Tuesday he couldn’t comment on the factual issues of the investigation. He emphasized that Haskell is presumed innocent. Blonigen said nothing in state law would automatically remove Haskell from his position as sheriff while the criminal case against him is pending.

Capt. Wes Johnston with the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that Haskell remains in command.

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