Jefferson County Sheriff, former candidates plead not guilty to criminal charges
Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens and two of her opponents in the 2016 election appeared in a Chambers County court Wednesday and entered pleas of not guilty on charges of campaign finance violations.
The next hearing will be scheduled for later this summer.
Stephens, Joe "QB" Stevens and Ray Beck were indicted on April 26 for allegedly accepting excessive cash contributions from the owner of a Beaumont car dealership currently under federal investigation.
Stephens is accused of accepting $1,000 in cash from Daylight Motors owner Larry Tillery in May 2016 and $5,000 in cash from Tillery in September 2016, according to her indictment, which was released by the AG's office.
She also faces a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record for allegedly reporting the $5,000 donation in the section of her campaign finance report designated for documenting donations of less than $50, "with intent to defraud or harm" Jefferson County citizens, the indictment said.
Read more: https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Sheriff-former-candidates-plead-not-guilty-to-12903924.php