Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens and two former sheriff candidates — Ray Beck and Joe Stevenson, have been indicted in Chambers County on campaign contribution violations.

Stephens, 52, was indicted on a felony offense of tampering with a governmental record and two misdemeanor charges of accepting cash contributions exceeding $100.

The felony count of the
indictment states that on or about Oct. 11, 2016, Stephens reported a $5,000 cash contribution in the political contributions of $50 or less section of the campaign finance report.

Count II of the indictment states that between May 23 and May 26, 2016 she accepted $1,000 in cash from Larry Tillery in a reporting period not to exceed $100 in cash. The third count occurred around Sept. 27 to Sept. 28, 2016, in which she reportedly accepted $5,000 in cash from Tillery in a reporting period not to exceed $100.

Bond was set at $5,000. She turned herself in and has bonded out of jail, according to information from the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying they are aware of the indictments against Stephens and it is being handled through the proper channels.

“The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office will continue to operate as usual providing dedicated service and protection to the citizens of our county,” the statement read.

Ray Beck, 67, a former Beaumont police officer, was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of a cash contribution of $5,000 from Tillery some time between Nov. 4 and Feb. 15, 2017, in a reporting period not to exceed $100.

A second misdemeanor offense shows that around Feb. 15, 2017, Beck failed to return the contribution.

Jefferson County Deputy Joe Stevenson, 59, was indicted with accepting a $1,000 cash donation from Tillery in a reporting period not to exceed $100.

According to court documents, in 2017 federal law enforcement sought to seize nine properties and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from Tillery, a Beaumont car dealer on suspicion of running an illegal gambling and money laundering business.

Sean C. Villery-Samuel, Stephen’s attorney, released a response to the allegations.

The statement tells of Stephens’ three decades in law enforcement and that this was the first time she ran for a public office.

“The charges, in this case, are a clear overreach by prosecutors who are willing to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’ We intend to vigorously defend Sheriff Stephens against these allegations. She has been a critical contributor to cleaning up the corruption and the politics-as-usual in Jefferson County. We need her to continue to do so,” according to the attorney’s statement.

Gretchen Grimsby director of the office of government relations at the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement said if any TCOLE licensee is convicted of an offense above a Class C misdemeanor, he or she faces license suspension or revocation. A Class B misdemeanor conviction results in a license suspension ranging from 60 days to 10 years. A Class A misdemeanor conviction results in a license suspension ranging from 120 days to 10 years. A felony conviction results in a statutory revocation.

In the case of a constitutionally elected official, he or she may also be subject to removal from office for any of these convictions. Typically removal for a misdemeanor conviction would be handled at the county level. For a felony conviction, on the other hand, TCOLE would work with the Office of the Attorney General to file removal proceedings.

Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the grand jury indictments in a statement and spoke on the issue.

“Our election laws were established to protect the right of Texans to govern themselves through their elected representatives and to ensure fair and transparent elections, and it is the responsibility of the attorney general to enforce these protections,” Paxton said. “No one is above the law. The conduct of the people indicted by the grand jury is illegal and erodes the public trust. Working with local and state law enforcement, my office intends to hold them accountable.”

The Texas Rangers and Attorney General Paxton’s Office, with the cooperation and assistance of the Chambers County District Attorney’s Office, are working together on the investigation and prosecution of all the charges. The case initially came to the attention of state law enforcement officials when the offenses were discovered during an unrelated federal investigation and forwarded to the Texas Rangers for further investigation.

Stephens ran against Stevenson and Rod Carroll for the sheriff’s seat in 2016 on the democratic ticket. Carroll was not indicted on any wrongdoing.

Stephens won the democratic nomination and went head to head against republican Beck and made history as the first black female sheriff in Texas.