Josh Barta
Jbarta@uwyo.edu
A jury has found former County Attorney Richard Bohling guilty of four charges, including four felony counts of obtaining property under false pretenses and one misdemeanor count of official misconduct.
Bohling was also acquitted of three other charges, including two felony charges of submitting false vouchers and wrongful taking or disposing of property, and one misdemeanor charge of wrongful appropriation of public funds.
The jury reached the decision on Saturday afternoon after one day of deliberation following a two-week trial.
The trial included the testimony of Albany County IT Director Rodney Weakley, along with several other former coworkers.
The prosecution also included testimonies from the Division of Criminal Investigation, or DCI agents.
According to court documents, DCI initiated an investigation and later a search of Bohling in 2014 after county employees alleged Bohling had used vouchers to purchase items that were not being used in the office. DCI uncovered numerous cameras and camera equipment during its search.
The cameras and camera equipment, as well as several other electronics, were shown to the jury as evidence. Personal photos taken by the camera had been acquired from Bohling’s hard drives were shown as additional evidence.
Despite this the defense claims Bohling never held title ownership of the possessions in question, claiming the possessions always belonged to Albany County.
Bohling’s Defense Attorney John Robinson said he plans to appeal the charges.
“We believe there were flaws in the prosecution,” he said. “We plan to challenge at district court and any subsequent court.
Bohling and his defense have the ability to appeal the verdict before sentencing.
