ROCK SPRINGS (Wyoming News Exchange) — Granger Mayor Bradley McCollum pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon in District Court to using the town’s bank cards for personal purchases.
McCollum, 56, who was elected mayor in 2018, is alleged to have used one of the town’s bank cards for at least four separate personal purchases totaling over $1,300 during a six-month period between July and December of 2019.
According to court documents, these purchases included tires for a personally-owned vehicle, fuel, and replacement parts for a furnace at McCollum’s rental property in New York state.
McCollum was arrested by Sweetwater County sheriff deputies in November 2020 and charged with alleged felony theft and wrongful appropriation of public property. He pleaded not guilty to both charges during his arraignment before Judge Richard Lavery in Sweetwater County District Court.
In Wyoming, theft in excess of $1,000 is a felony punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Wrongful appropriation of public property is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum one-year sentence and $1,000 fine.
A trial date was set for June 7, 2021, although McCollum’s attorney said a plea agreement is being negotiated.
McCollum remains free on a $1,500 bond and continues to serve as mayor although the conditions of his bond prevent him from controlling any of Granger’s finances.
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