No Criminal Wrongdoing By Former Petersburg Employee

The 12th Judicial District Attorneys office stated that the evidence of a crime being committed is refuted in the documents provided. The District Attorney’s Office determined that there is no criminal activity and no additional investigation will be conducted.

During a July 7, 2026 Board of Mayor and  Aldermen meeting in Petersburg, then mayor Shantel Gatlin went on record during that meeting leveling allegations of wrongdoing by a former employee and their unauthorized access to the cities e-mail account. Mayor Gatlin stated at that time the user was actively downloading documents. At some point after that Gatlin provided a file to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department with the alleged wrongdoings. Investigators determined at that time the material provided did not appear to be beneficial for any type of investigation. Beginning the first of August several attempts were made by the sheriff’s department to contact Gatlin to no avail. On August 26^th Deputy Chief Patrick Murdock met with assistant district attorneys at the DA’s office where the lack of any cooperation from the town of Petersburg was discussed. During the meeting, it was determined in order to insure fairness and avoid a conflict of interest, another jurisdictional District Attorney should look at the case. The District Attorney for the 12^th Judicial District agreed to review the case. On September 30^th a letter to Deputy Chief Murdock from the 12^th Judicial District Attorneys office stated that the evidence of a crime being committed is refuted in the documents provided. The District Attorney’s Office determined that there is no criminal activity and no additional investigation will be conducted. For more complete details and the timeline on this story see today’s edition of the Elk Valley Times.