STINNETT- The Texas Rangers arrested Jason Collier, the ex-Chief of Police for the City of Stinnett, for Tampering with Governmental Record/intent to defraud-(cause harm) charge. His bond was set at $10,000. Collier bonded out approximately 30-minutes later.
The Texas Rangers released the following statement from Cindy Barkley Sgt. Texas Dept of Public Safety Thursday afternoon: “On Tuesday, Jan. 26, the Hutchinson County District Attorney’s Office requested the Texas Rangers conduct a criminal investigation into Jason Collier, 41, of Stinnett. Collier allegedly sent a text message to the victim with a fraudulent government record attached. The document was a fraudulent marriage annulment. This afternoon, the Texas Rangers arrested Collier. They booked him into the Hutchinson County Jail on the charge of tampering with a governmental record/with the intent to defraud (state jail felony). The bond was set at $10,000. The investigation is ongoing, and no further information is available. Any additional inquiries need to be directed to the Hutchinson County District Attorney’s Office.”
Collier also resigned his position as Chief of Police for the City of Stinnett on Thursday. Stinnett Mayor Colin Locke said the city manager will help with the chief duties.
Locke said, “The City Manager will most likely fill the Chiefs role on an interim basis. Our Sgt. has fulfilled that role in the past as well, so her services will most likely be used as well. We are still discussing the best course for the short-term.”
Collier was put on administrative leave Wednesday following allegations that surfaced on Facebook on Monday. Collier was placed on administrative leave Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement from Stinnett City Manager Durk Downs. Down’s stated in his release that Collier was put on administrative leave following allegations of a violation of city policy. However, Downs did not specify which policies that Collier may have violated.
Collier is allegedly involved in a love triangle that includes a wife, two fiancés, and countless girlfriends. Cecily Steinmetz and Kristi Shaffer both surfaced on Facebook Monday, stating that they were engaged to the small-town police chief. Steinmetz, from Amarillo, started dating Collier in 2020 after meeting him on a dating site and soon became engaged to him. Steinmetz had a friend discover an anniversary post made by Collier on Facebook to his wife, Opal, which tipped her off that Collier was married and living a double life. After Steinmetz made a post on Facebook about being engaged to Collier, another woman named Kristi Shaffer, of Kansas, surfaced.
The plot thickened as she, too, stated that she was engaged to Collier. Since then, several girlfriends have also come forward and said they, again, were dating Collier.
Steinmetz has also posted annulment papers on Facebook, which she says Collier gave her, showing his marriage to his wife, Opal, had been annulled. The Borger News-Herald reached out to the 108th District Court listed on the annulment papers on Thursday afternoon and was told by the court administrator “that the cause numbers on their paperwork end with the letter E. That the annulment paperwork is not out of Potter County or 108th District Court.”
Steinmetz has stated since her original post, allegedly, that Collier would often visit her on duty in the City of Stinnett patrol car and has posted a video on Facebook showing him leaving her home in uniform.
