COFFEE CITY, Texas — JohnJay Portillo, former chief for the deactivated Coffee City Police Department, has pleaded not guilty to all charges filed against him in court before 3rd District Judge Mark Calhoon on Monday afternoon.
According to Henderson County jail records, Portillo is accused of tampering with government records on six occasions.
Portillo's pre-trial hearing is set for March 11 in Henderson County.
Former Coffee City police officer Jerrod Sieck and Christopher Witzel were also present in court and have a pre-trial hearing set on March 11 in Henderson County.
Sieck is accused of tampering with government records on five accounts, according to a Henderson County grand jury.
Following his 30 day suspension, KHOU 11 Investigates also learned that Portillo failed to disclose an active DWI charge out of Florida in 2021 when he was applying to be Coffee City’s police chief.
The investigation found that Coffee City, which has a population of 250 people, had a police department of 50 officers on staff -- five times the number of officers than any other Texas town of its size.
Coffee City Mayor Jeff Blackstone said the council decided to deactivate the entire police force instead of pursuing individual investigations.
The decision to fire the chief came after an independent investigation conducted by the city confirmed the DWI allegation against Portillo. The former chief did not disclose that charge on his job application.
Following the deactivation of Coffee City's police department, the Smith County Sheriff's Office and the Henderson County Sheriff's Office have been responding to police calls in the city.