A now-former Texas Stinnett Police Chief was arrested by the Texas Rangers Thursday after a viral Facebook post accused him of using fake documents to lure in his initially unsuspecting fiancée.
NBC DFW reports that the Texas Rangers arrested Jason Collier on Thursday, a day after he was placed on administrative leave. According to authorities, Collier is accused of tampering with a government document that indicated his marriage had been annulled.
“Collier allegedly sent a text message to the victim with a fraudulent government record attached. The document was a fraudulent marriage annulment,” Public Safety Sgt. Cindy Barkley said.
Chief Jason Collier is living a double/triple life. I was his girlfriend until yesterday. He lied to me and presented me…
Posted by Cecily Steinmetz on Tuesday, January 26, 2021
The incident started when Cecily Steinmetz, of El Paso, took to Facebook to air out Collier’s alleged dirty laundry. She posted photos of the marriage annulment documentation that Collier allegedly sent her.
When Kristi Shaffer saw the photos and posts, she, too, said she was involved romantically with Collier, according to The Daily Beast. Shortly after, Collier reportedly deleted his own Facebook account.
Steinmetz told MyHighPlains.com that Collier took time off from his job as a police chief to spend time with her, with promises to get married. Collier told her he would provide proof to show that his marriage was annulled.
“He was like, ‘Well, you know, I’ll get you the annulment,’ and he’s like, ‘Just hold on.’ I was like, ‘Okay, you know, let me see it then,’ and he sent that to me. And I told him, I said, ‘Well, I’m not going to take this at face value.”
Speaking about the annulment, 108th District judge Doug Woodburn confirmed that “no match exists either under that name or cause number. Our cause numbers are completely different… My court is followed by the letter E. It’s a fake.”
Collier has been charged with tampering with a government document with the intent to defraud. His bond was set at $10,000.
“I would just hope that he has learned his lesson, not to deceive people like that,” Steinmetz added. “I was also apt to believe him about everything due to his position.”
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[Feature Photo: Jason Collier/Police Handout; Facebook]
