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PRICE — Carbon County Sheriff James Cordova was placed on paid administrative leave Friday by the Carbon County Commission, one day after state prosecutors filed criminal charges against him.
In a letter addressed to Cordova and sent by email to his attorney, county commissioners informed the sheriff that he was being put on paid leave pending resolution of the criminal case against him. It's a step that is required by state law whenever an elected county official is charged with a felony "arising from conduct related to the officer's official duties"
Cordova, 53, was charged Thursday by the Utah Attorney General's Office with misusing public money, a third-degree felony, and a license plate violation, a class C misdemeanor.
Over the course of four months, Cordova used a pickup truck and trailer owned by the county to move his personal possessions from his house in Price to his new house in St. George, according to the charges. During those trips, the sheriff used a county credit card 26 times to put gasoline in the truck, racking up a $2,000 bill, the charges state.
Cordova is also accused of taking the license plate off one county-owned trailer and putting it on the county-owned trailer he was using.
In its letter to Cordova, the County Commission directed him to immediately return all county-owned electronic equipment, including his cellphone, iPad and two laptops. All of his keys, weapons and county-issued police equipment are to be turned in immediately to Cordova's chief deputy, Tom Stefanoff, the letter states.
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Carbon County sheriff charged with misusing public money
The Utah Attorney General's Office has charged Carbon County Sheriff James Cordova with misusing public money in connection with his alleged use of county-owned vehicles and a county-owned credit card to move to his new house in St. George.Commissioners also informed Cordova that he is barred from entering the sheriff's office, the county jail and the county's search and rescue building without a personal escort from Stefanoff.
Cordova, who was first sworn in as sheriff in 1999, said last year that he would not seek re-election. In December 2013, he purchased a home in St. George. Shortly after, multiple sources say, he was frequently absent from his office.
At that point, responsibility for day-to-day operations of the sheriff's office was delegated to Stefanoff, who has now been named by the County Commission to assume Cordova's duties while he is on paid leave.
In November, Stefanoff lost his bid to replace Cordova as sheriff. Republican Jeff Wood will be sworn in as sheriff in January.
Should Cordova resign before his term is up at the end of the month, his replacement would be chosen by the Carbon County Democratic Party's central committee.
Cordova's first court appearance is set for Jan. 12.
