Comanche County Commissioner pleas to embezzlement, resigns office

Comanche County District No. 1 Commission John Donavon O’Brien has resigned from office.

O’Brien was charged with two misdemeanor counts of embezzlement while in office. He faced a preliminary hearing on the charges Tuesday. Instead of the hearing, he pleaded no contest, with the stipulation he resign. He received two deferred concurrent 18-month sentences along with court costs and fines.

Restitution has been satisfied, court records indicate.

O’Brien is not allowed to run for elected office for 18 months, according to the plea.

A no contest plea is not an admittance of guilt but an acknowledgement the evidence would most likely lead to a jury’s finding of guilt.

Following the plea, O’Brien’s $2,500 cash bond was exonerated by the Court Clerk’s office.

When O’Brien was asked what prompted the plea after prior statements he would fight the charges, Zelbst answered for him:

“We aren’t going to make a comment.”

O’Brien had been facing two felony counts of embezzlement by a county official and misdemeanor charges of computer crime and two counts of outraging public decency. The felony charges were downgraded to misdemeanor counts and the original misdemeanor charges were dismissed.

The original charges were filed March 13 in Comanche County District Court by Stephens County District Attorney Jason Hicks; Comanche County District Attorney Kyle Cabelka had recused himself due to serving as counsel for the Comanche County Board of Commissioners and the recusal avoided a conflict of interest.

O’Brien was suspended from his position on May 7 after a State Attorney General’s multi-county grand jury recommended he be removed from office due to allegations he’s abused his position.

O’Brien was accused of oppression, corruption, and willful maladministration in office, according to the petition filed Cabelka following his presentation of the case in Oklahoma City.

Allegations from the application for removal mirrors the charges leveled against O’Brien in March stemming from an investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation begun on June 16, 2023, after reports from Comanche County employees that O’Brien was using his county-issued truck as his personal vehicle, the probable cause affidavit states.

O’Brien also was accused of sending inappropriate and unprofessional sexualized comments and text messages to one of his employees, Tiffany Johle, that created “a hostile work environment.” Several of the messages were entered into evidence and produced in the probable cause affidavit.

The termination of Mallory Geiger, Kenneth Curry and Ronald “Tyler” Fletcher from their jobs after they cooperated with the OSBI criminal investigation were also amongst the allegations. All three employees were terminated between July 25 and July 31, 2023, according to the criminal probable cause affidavit.

O’Brien also was accused of using his Comanche County-issued cellphone and pickup for personal use as well as violation of the computer crimes act for the messages sent to Johle and outraging public decency for the worker terminations.

O’Brien’s embezzlement pleas Tuesday are for the charges relating to using the cellphone and pickup for personal use.

Johle filed a notice of civil action for discrimination against the Board of Commissioners that was last discussed during the Jan. 29 commissioners meeting. Following an executive session, it was tabled with a unanimous vote, including a vote by O’Brien. Mediation continues regarding the complaint.

O’Brien has been Eastern District commissioner since Jan. 3, 2023, after beating long-time incumbent Gail Turner in 2022. He was suspended from office when the charges were filed.

With his plea, a scheduled hearing Wednesday morning before District Judge Scott D. Meaders regarding O’Brien’s May 7 suspension from office has been cancelled.

“… the Court finds that in light of the fact that the Defendant has resigned his office, this matter has become Moot and this action is hereby Dismissed,” Meaders’ order states.

On Monday, Trent Logan was sworn in as Interim District 1 County Commissioner following appointment by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

State law allows the governor to appoint someone to fill a vacant county commissioner seat, but also specifies the governor has a set amount of time to call a special election to allow voters to select their own replacement. Logan replaced District 1 Office Manager Ashley Sanders, who was filling in for O’Brien following his suspension in May.