A Siskiyou County firefighter who was arrested on March 2 in possible connection with embezzlement and misappropriation of funds will go to Siskiyou County Superior Court for a pre-trial conference on May 27.
Mount Shasta Fire Capt. Jasen Patrick Vela entered a not guilty plea on March 4, two days after his arrest on suspicion of felony embezzlement by employee and felony “appropriates for personal use,” according to Siskiyou County Superior Court documents posted up to March 20.
“These charges stem from his (Vela’s) tenure as the City of Montague’s Fire Chief,” said Mount Shasta City Manager Todd Juhasz in a public statement about Vela’s arrest.
Vela is on unpaid administrative leave from the fire department while Mount Shasta Police Department investigators look into the case, he said.
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The internal affairs investigation will look into an incident from Aug. 31, 2024, according to court documents.
Vela pleaded not guilty to the charge of misappropriation.
The district attorney’s office didn’t return calls or emails sent between March 10 and 17.
The preliminary hearing was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18. The judge assigned to the case was JoAnn Bicago, and Redding criminal defense attorney Michael Borges is representing Vela, according to Siskiyou County Superior Court.
Calls to Borges’ Redding office on were not returned as of March 20.
The Montague Fire Department served 1,145 residents over a 1.8-mile area in 2026, according to World Population Review.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal , Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Siskiyou fire captain in court after arrest on embezzlement suspicion
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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