Theft charges dropped for former Perryville police chief; forgery case advances

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- After about an hour of testimony that delved into the minutiae of the processes officers use to file police reports, a Perry County circuit judge dismissed one of the two felony charges against former Perryville police chief Keith Tarrillion but ordered the case bound over for trial on the second.

Tarrillion, who resigned as chief last spring amid allegations of misconduct, had been charged with two felonies -- theft and forgery -- as well as a misdemeanor charge of making a false report.

At a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Judge Gary Kamp dismissed the theft charge but said there was "more than sufficient evidence" to establish probable cause on the forgery charge.

Tarrillion is accused of filing a false police report claiming vandalism to a hot tub and table at his home in November 2010.

Tarrillion submitted the report to his insurance company, California Casualty, which later issued him a pair of payments totaling $5,400, a claims adjuster for the company testified during the preliminary hearing Wednesday.

The report, which has a start date of Nov. 9, 2010, and an end date of Nov. 12, 2010, has Detective Jon Lanier's name on it and suggests Lanier went to Tarrillion's home to inspect the damage.

The report came to light last spring during an investigation prompted by some Perryville Police Department employees' claims of sexual harassment and other misconduct by Tarrillion.

Under questioning Wednesday by assistant Missouri attorney general Brent Connelly, Lanier said he recalled being asked to generate a report about vandalism at Tarrillion's home, but he never followed up on the request and was not working Nov. 9, 2010 -- the day the report implies he went to Tarrillion's home to look at the damage.

Lanier testified he was sure he did not fill out the narrative portion of the report, because he uses a distinctive style in filling out his reports, and the report in question diverged from that style in several ways, including the notation used to express the date and the omission of certain words and phrases.

Some of the testimony Wednesday focused on the department's practices concerning software usernames and passwords.

Cpl. Jeri Cain, who helps with information technology for the department, said the software used to generate reports has a tracking system that shows who created the report.

"You could sign their name, but you would show the user account as who was signed on," she said.

The initial usernames and passwords issued to officers consisted of their last names and badge numbers, Cain said.

Although it was "highly" recommended officers change their passwords, few did, she said.

"Most of them kept them as their badge numbers," Cain said.

Sgt. David Bauer of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said when he interviewed Tarrillion in April 2013, Tarrillion admitted he filled out the narrative because he knew the details, so it was easier to write it himself than to have Lanier do it.

Bauer said he asked Tarrillion whether any officers came to his home to investigate the damage.

"He said no, no one had come to his house, but that didn't surprise him, because his officers weren't very diligent," Bauer testified.

The report, ostensibly filed by Lanier, states: "Upon my arrival I met with Tarrillion who directed me to the rear of his residence where I observed damage to a patio table and spa."

"The question to him was, 'If no one came to your residence to investigate that, how did you put in your report ... that this officer came to your house?'" Bauer said.

In arguing for dismissal of the theft charge, Tarrillion's attorney, Patrick McMenamin, said if the vandalism occurred, then Tarrillion had a legitimate claim to the money he received from the insurance company, regardless of who filed the police report.

"I can see that there was evidence presented today that a false report was filed," McMenamin acknowledged, but he drew a distinction between the police report and the insurance claim.

"There has not been one shred of evidence put on today that his claim was fraudulent," McMenamin said.

With the theft charge dismissed, Tarrillion still faces one felony count of forgery and a misdemeanor charge of making a false report.

Tarrillion resigned his position last April under a memorandum of understanding that required the city to continue to pay his salary and benefits until the end of his term until he was charged with a crime or his term of office expired, whichever came first.

The city stopped paying Tarrillion after charges were filed last fall.

If he is exonerated of all charges, the city will owe him back pay from the point at which the payments stopped; if convicted of a crime, Tarrillion will have to reimburse the city for the salary and benefits he received after his resignation.

Tarrillion's next court date is set for Jan. 24.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Perryville, MO