STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT 10-23-2017 Clerk of Courts Tayior County. Wis. TAYLOR COUNTY STATE OF WISCONSIN, Post O?ice Box 7857 Madison, WI 53707-7857, Plaintiff, v. STEVEN W. BOWBRS, W4936 County Highway 0 Medford, WI 54451 DOB: 3/2911 969 Height: 6?0? Weight: 245 lbs. Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown Defendant. Case No. CRIMINAL Your complainant, Special Agent Kyra Schallhom, being ?rst duly sworn on oath, states as follows: COUNT ONE: MISCONDUCT IN PUBLIC OFFICE On or about and between February 25, 2017, and February 27, 2017, in Taylor County, Wisconsin, the defendant, in his capacity as a public employee, did an act which he knew to be in excess of his law?JI authority, speci?cally, he disclosed police reports from pending investigations without supervisor approval, contrary to Wis. Stat. 946.120) and 93 a Class I Felony, for which the penalty upon conviction is a ?ne not to exceed $10,000 and/or imprisonment not more than three years and six months. PROBABLE CAUSE Your complainant met with Taylor County Sheriff Bruce Daniels on March 14, 2017. Sheriff Daniels requested assistance from the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) after he learned that one of his employees, the defendant, Steven Bowers, had shared con?dential reports on two cold case homicides with television producers without supervisor consent. Sheriff Daniels stated that the defendant had access to the reports through his employment as a Detective Sergeant with the Taylor County Sheriff?s Department. Sheriff Daniels stated that his agency had worked with the television program Cold Justice on one Taylor County cold case homicide (Murder 1) in February 2017. Sheriff Daniels stated that the Sheriff?s Department and Taylor County Corporation Counsel Courtney Graff had agreed to a contract with the Cold Justice producers on Murder 1. Your complainant has reviewed the contract and it speci?cally relates to Murder 1. The contract does not provide for the exchange of information in any other Taylor County cases. Your complaith met with Taylor County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Larry Woebbeking on April 17, 2017. Chief Deputy Woebbeking stated that he worked with Cold Justice producer Nan Strait on Murder 1. Chief Deputy Woebbeking stated that he heard Strait and other producers talking about two other Taylor County cold cases that the producers found ?interesting? (Murder 2 and Murder 3). Chief Deputy Woebbeking stated that Strait told him she heard about Murder 2 and Murder 3 ?om the defendant. Chief Deputy Woebbeking stated that he told Sheriff Daniels that the producers knew about Murder 2 and Murder 3 and he hoped that the defendant did not give them any police reports because the defendant had not asked anyone for permission. The next day, Chief Deputy Woebbeking stated that he overheard Strait saying that she does not like receiving ?les through Dropbox because, feel like anybody can look at what?s being sent to me.? Chief Deputy Woebbeking stated that a day or two later Strait gave him a stack of papers to return to the Taylor County Sheriff?s Department that she had received from the defendant. Those records were reports from Murder 2. On April 17, 2017, your complainant met with Christine O?Toole, data records manager for the Taylor County Sheriff?s Department, located at 224 South 2"?1 Street in the city of Medford, Taylor County, Wisconsin. O?Toole stated that on February 27, 2017, the defendant asked her to locate paper ?les from Murder 2 for him. O?Toole provided the emails between her and the defendant from that time. In the emails, the defendant tells O?Toole to locate all ?les related to Murder 2. On February 27, 2017, the defendant writes, ?The guys are going to want to scan it all when you ?nd it.? O?Toole stated that she provided all of the police reports and medical records from Murder 2 to a member of the Cold Justice production sta?? at the defendant?s direction on- February 27, 2017. O?Toole stated that there was one box of reports and one box of medical records. O?Toole stated that she had only worked at the Sheriff?s Department for three months and felt ?weird? and ?uncomfortable? turning over the records, but she did. O?Toole stated that on February 28, 2017, she received an email from the defendant stating, ?The ?lm company will be returning those case records this morning.? O?Toole stated that she received all the records ?om Murder 2 back on the morning of February 28, 2017. Sheriff Daniels stated that he Spoke with Melissa Seavers, IT Director for Taylor County, who located a Dropbox account linked to the defendant?s of?cial Taylor County Sheriffs Department email address. The defendant?s email is listed as the ?owner? of the account. The title of one of the folders in the account is the name of the victim in Murder 3. The other individuals with access to the Murder 3 Dropbox folder are the defendant?s girlfriend, Jaime Henrichs, Cold Justice producer Strait, and Cold Justice employee Bennett Krueger. The Dropbox account includes all of the reports from the investigation of Murder 3, including a pen register application, search warrants, photos, and reports. Seavers stated that Strait joined the Murder 3 folder on February 25, 2017, and removed her access on February 28, 2017. Kruegerjoined on February 27, 2017, and removed his access on March 1, 2017. On February 27, 2017, at 5:06 Sheriff Daniels emailed the defendant about the release of records related to Murder 2 and Murder 3. Sheriff Daniels wrote, ?There are very good reasons why these types of releases need to be approved. I will be very glad to hear the reason for our policies being disregarded by whoever directed this to happen.? The defendant replied on February 27, 2017, at 6:57 You are correct. That did happen and it was me. I was working with the investigator and as a part of that we were talking. They asked if we had any other cold case homicides and I said we did. A?er explaining the cases to them, they said they were very interested in them. I guess I got caught up in the whole we are working together thing and the fact that this case was going so well. In my exuberance with the fact that this may be the thing we need to get us over the hump in these cases, I let them read the case ?le to see if they would even be interested in them. Know that I meant no disrespect to you, nor was it my intent to disregard the policies of the department. In my eyes at the time, I saw it as more sharing with another agency as opposed to a release of information. I simply saw an opportunity to maybe get farther on these cases and took it. In hindsight I realize that I should have run it by you first and I realize that I was wrong. Sheriff Daniels provided a copy of the Taylor County Sheriffs Department ?Policy and, Procedure,? dated August 2010. In the Policy, under ?Death Investigations,? the Policy states, NOT RELEASE ANY Sheriff Daniels stated that neither he nor any member of his command staff gave the defendant permission to share reports from Murder 2 or Murder 3. The Taylor County Information Technology Policies and Procedures, which applies to all Taylor County employees, states that ?Certain information accessed during the course of an employee?s job is con?dential,? and that ?Any violation of this con?dentiality is strictly prohibited -4- and may be punishable by criminal prosecution and disciplinary action up to and including termination.? Your complainant spoke with Taylor County District Attorney Kristi Tlusty on April 17, 2017. District Attorney Tlusty stated that she gave permission for the Taylor County Sheriff?s Department to work with Cold Justice on Murder 1. District Attorney Tlusty stated that no one ever asked her permission to share any ?les from Murder 2 or Murder 3 with Cold Justice. District Attorney Tlusty stated that she spoke with Strait by phone on February 27, 2017. District Attorney Tlusty stated that she told Strait that the defendant had shared records from Murder 2 and Murder 3 without permission. District Attorney Tlusty stated that Strait stated that she had asked the defendant if he had permission. District Attorney Tlusty stated that Strait was very apologetic and promised to delete her access to the Dropbox ?le. District Attorney Tlusty stated that Strait stated that she would return the paper records from Murder 2 to Chief Deputy Woebbeking the next day. Your complainant is a Special Agent with the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, who bases her knowledge of this complaint on: the of?cial law enforcement agency reports of the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation and the Taylor County Sheriff?s Department, which reports were prepared in the normal course of law enforcement duties; statements by citizen informant(s), who are eyewitnesses to the facts they relate; statements by the defendant, which were made contrary to his penal interests; the of?cial records of: the Circuit Court for Taylor Count-y; the Department of Transportation; the FBI Triple I Teletype; and the Wisconsin Circuit Court Automated Program, which records are maintained in the normal course of business duties. 9L Dated this ?'day of October, 2017. AGENT KYRA SCHALLHORN Complainant Subscribed to before me and approved for ?ling this day of October, 201.7. . ?ssisMomq?l and Specia} Prosecutor for Taylor County State Bar'No. 1056404 Wisconsin Department of Justice PO. Box 7857 Madison3 WI 53707 (608) 266-7447