ELYRIA, Ohio — Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson and his chief of staff James Burge are each facing felony charges in Elyria Municipal Court, records show.
The pair have both been charged with tampering with evidence and intimidation. Tomlinson also faces an additional charge of attempted bribery. The charges come after a months-long investigation into a separation agreement between Tomlinson and an ex-employee/girlfriend.
Both men were set to be arraigned on Thursday, but neither had secured attorneys. The hearing at Elyria Municipal Court was continued to Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. Tomlinson and Burge were ordered to have no contact with the victim in the case and were also ordered to be fingerprinted.
Patrick Carroll, a retired Lakewood Municipal Court judge, has been appointed as the visiting judge in the case by the Ohio Supreme Court. Attorney Ron O'Brien, former Franklin County Prosecutor and Columbus City Attorney, has been appointed as the special prosecutor.
You can watch Thursday's hearing below.
Tomlinson and Burge spoke to reporters after their hearing in Elyria on Thursday.
“We just want to say that we're very comfortable with the evidence that we have, and we look forward to our date in court. We are innocent," Tomlinson stated.
"We are absolutely innocent of these charges and we will prove that to you," Burge added.
Tomlinson also denied allegations that he struck his former employee/girlfriend. "No. We can't talk too much about our case right now, but we will, the evidence will be shown. There was no striking.”
CASE BACKGROUND
On Aug. 1, the Lorain County Sheriff's Office confirmed to 3News that it was working jointly on an investigation of the prosecutor's office along with the Cleveland Office of the FBI and the Ohio Auditor of State's Special Investigation Unit. A spokesperson for the sheriff's office told 3News at the time that the investigation into Tomlinson began with a "settlement agreement to his former employee/girlfriend for $100,000 of general fund dollars."
In a court deposition, Captain Robert Vansant of the Lorain County Sheriff's Office said investigators determined that the settlement was finalized on Oct. 17, 2023 at a Lorain County Commissioners meeting. However, the payment settlement was apparently not turned into the county's insurance plan. Instead, Vansant said it was accomplished through payment of $40,000 from the prosecutor's salary budget, plus two requisitions of the prosecutor's salary budget for $40,000 and $20,000.
As investigators continued to pursue information about the settlement, they obtained an EEOC complaint from the former employee/girlfriend with allegations that Tomlinson "was holding her employment over her head to engage in a sexual relationship" with her, which "resulted in her constructive termination from her employment."
Vansant also stated that "Tomlinson and Burge have tried to tamper" with the former employee/girlfriend "by urging and soliciting her to adopt a false narrative to undermine the investigation."
The woman told investigators that on the day before she resigned in August 2023, Tomlinson "grabbed her, threw her on the couch, and shook her." Vansant added that she texted Burge about the confrontation and shared photographs of the bruising to her arms when Tomlinson shook her.
"Before she quit, Burge handwrote a letter containing false information for her to type and sign," the affidavit noted from an interview with the woman. "She did not sign the letter because the information in it was untrue."
The affidavit indicates that Tomlinson tried for several months to get the woman to change her statement. He purportedly asked to take her to dinner in July of this year, first offering her $100, then $500. The pair apparently met in Montana on Aug. 28, when they apparently had a "heated discussion" about the settlement.
She told investigators that Tomlinson grabbed and took her phone while "refusing to allow her to go to her room and was jumping up and down and screaming at her." Eventually, he gave her phone back and she decided to sneak out when Tomlinson was sleeping.
The woman said upon learning she had left, "Tomlinson called her 21 times and sent numerous texts; he then called another 64 times with more texts apologizing and then another 31 times before she boarded the plane."
Vansant also took issue with claims by Tomlinson that the woman's attorney "is conspiring with the Lorain County Sheriff, his employees, and his lawyers to ensure that Tomlinson is removed from office before or at the next election."
"Your affiant (Vansant), the Ohio Auditor's Office and the FBI are investigating where the facts lead," Vansant stated. "There has been no conspiracy to remove Tomlinson from the office."
Tomlinson, a graduate of Oberlin College and Case Western Reserve University School of Law, has been the Lorain County prosecutor since 2021. The 43-year-old Democrat will face Republican challenger Tony Cillo in his reelection bid next month.
"I think we're going to win," Tomlinson said Thursday. "I think people see through this. I think they see the timing. They know the players involved and I think they can see it. I'm looking forward to the election."