Sheriff report on potential death threat
Note: The following is a police report prepared by Sheriff Larry Woebbeking on his investigation into allegations of death threats against CVSO Shellie Shaw.
On June 23, 2022, at 11:03 hrs, I received an email from Shellie Shaw of the Taylor County Veteran’s [Service] Office. The email indicated she received information from two (2) veterans, but she did not include their names, informing her that members of the Taylor County board will likely try to have her killed. Her email goes on to say she contacted her attorney for guidance, who informed her to tell law enforcement. Her email continues to say she is concerned this situation may escalate. She stated she does not want to see harm come to anyone, nor does she want to be tied to anything if someone is harmed in any way. She also indicated she does not want to be in a position where she must have to defend herself. The email concluded with “the harassment continues”. I replied to her email at 11:37 hrs on the same date. I informed Shellie it was likely the veterans were not basing that information on real.. life evidence. I also indicated it is concerning that a veteran may believe that a County Board member may try to harm Shellie and therefore feel they are protecting her and that could be a danger. I also informed her that I took these comments very seriously and felt that it could potentially lead to an altercation or danger to others in the Court House. I also asked her if she could arrange a meeting with the unnamed veterans who allegedly provided that information.
At approx. 12:30 hrs on the same date, I arrived at the Veteran’s [Service] Office, knocked on the door, and was allowed in by Shellie Shaw, at which time she was having a conversation with Joe Svejda of Taylor County Buildings and Ground Department. After their conversation had ended, he exited the office and I spoke with Shellie about the email she had provided me.
During the conversation she alluded that she felt concerned since two (2) separate veterans had informed her that supposedly County Board members are in a “Taylor County/Medford mafi a” and are in a “Good Old Boys Club” and she had to be careful. I asked her if she really felt that a County Board member would really try to kill her and to what point. She indicated that they may not necessarily kill her themselves, but they may hire someone do it. I asked her again, to what end would someone, a county elected official, try to have her killed just because they don’t like her job performance. She stated that she doesn’t know, she is relying on the information given to her by the veterans and she hasn’t been here long enough to know for sure, but she is concerned with the information. However later in the conversation, she stated she was not concerned for herself or her safety but those of others.
She also stated that throughout recent events, another veteran had indicated to her that Lester Lewis, (the current Chairman of the Veterans Administration Committee), needs a 50 cal to the head, (which would indicate a 50-caliber rifle round). She also had been told by a veteran, who she did not name, that he knows somebody who can take care of the situation, alluding to knowing someone who could have someone harmed or killed. I told Shellie Shaw these comments cannot be allowed and need to be addressed with the individuals who said them. I informed Shellie it’s likely the veterans who made these statements are just talking and have no real intentions of harming anyone, but we don’t know that, and we have to address this situation seriously as a potential danger to the safety of the courthouse and board members until we know for sure. I asked her if she could give me the names of these veterans so I could talk to them.
Shellie did not want to release the names. However, she stated she would contact them and ask for permission to release their names to me. I asked her if she would be able to do this in the next day or two (2) because I felt it was important to address this situation. She stated she would try and get back to me with the results. I again informed Shellie that this is a serious and it needs to be looked into and I would seek legal means available to find out who made these comments if she wouldn’t provide the names to me. She stated that she understood.
Our conversation was approx. 20 minutes or so in length. During that time, we talked about other topics. She felt she is still being harassed by Taylor County and Lester Lewis, individually. She did not provide any specific examples; however, she believes she continues to be harassed. I informed her that if she feels she is being harassed she should act within her rights as a county employee or seek legal counsel for guidance and steps she can take within the boundaries of the law. But it is important that she does not over include the veterans in some of these work-related issues because it seems to result in agitated people and then it makes matters worse, and we end up with statements like the ones I am currently investigating.
Shellie asked if an outside agency would be more appropriate to look into this current matter. I informed her as of right now, I would look into the comments that were made and talk to the individuals involved. If there becomes a credible possibility of a criminal offense, then I would seek an outside agency to complete that investigation. However currently, there is no reason to seek an outside agency until I speak with the people involved to see if there is any type of criminal offense to even investigate. She stated she understood. We concluded our conversation.
— Sheriff Larry Woebbeking
