Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters In Court To Face Charges In Alleged Deception Case

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (CBS4)- Controversial Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters bonded out of the Mesa County Jail Thursday night after posting a $25,000 bond. It followed a video appearance in court from the jail, where she spent Wednesday night after turning herself in to face 10 charges.

It came after her indictment by a Grand Jury looking into her activities in mid-2021 software upgrade known as a "trusted build."

The build is an in-person upgrade of election management software. Voting system equipment is not linked to the internet, but a closed network, so upgrades must be done in person.

The indictment says Peters and her assistant Belinda Knisley are accused of "A deceptive scheme which was designed to influence public servants, breach security protocols, exceed permissible access to voting equipment and set in motion the eventual distribution of confidential information to unauthorized people."

In court her attorney pleaded for a low bond, among other things, sharing that Peters' father had passed away during the night in the Carolinas while Peters was in jail. He also attempted to diminish the indictment.

"An old saying goes judge that you could indict a ham sandwich," said defense attorney Jason Jovanovich, borrowing a phrase made popular in the Tom Wolfe book, Bonfire of the Vanities. "At worst she's accused of doing her job that she is constitutionally and statutorily supposed to do."

But District Attorney Daniel Rubinstein countered it with, "I really take issue with the statement of Mr. Jovanovich, 'At worst she is accused of doing her Job.' No that's not actually the situation at all, the grand jury has returned indictments on seven felony counts, three misdemeanor counts, essentially saying she was not doing her job."

Judge Matthew Barrett told the court, "I note that the allegations, in this case, are very serious… And are alleged to have been acts that undermined the democratic process."

He set the bond for Peters at $25,000 after the prosecution noted she had at times disappeared, leaving the state. He ordered her not to have contact with people at the clerk's office, including Knisley and others involved in the case. Knisley was allowed to bond out on personal recognizance. She left the jail earlier in the evening.

Among those the two are not allowed to contact is Gerald Wood. The indictment claims Peters stole Wood's identity and provided to another unknown person who attended the trusted build and the Secretary of State's Office says, stood behind a state expert recording video. Peters is accused of having cameras in the area turned off. The district attorney says there could still be additional people charged in the case, but has not indicated if it knows who the man was.