A Lubbock police officer and a firefighter were arrested Tuesday afternoon, accused of falsifying a child’s birth record.
April Marie Mora, 38, and Jonathan Forkner, 39, were booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on counts of falsifying a birth certificate.
Mora faces four counts of the offense, while Forkner is charged with two counts for an alleged plot to keep the biological father away from the child, according to court records.
Lubbock police Chief Seth Herman hosted a news conference early Tuesday evening announcing Mora’s arrest. Shortly after, Lubbock Fire Rescue shared a news release announcing Forkner had been arrested. Neither department’s communications mentioned if the two were linked.
Herman said Mora was initially placed on paid administrative leave on April 15 on an unrelated investigation.
However, on April 29, investigators with the Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit learned that Mora may have falsified her child’s birth records, Herman said.
Herman did not disclose the specifics behind the charges but said it involved a “love interest and a consternation between the two parties.”
Mora, who began working for the police department in 2016, is now on unpaid leave and remains held at the Lubbock County Detention Center as of Tuesday evening. Her bond is set at $3,000.
“The Lubbock Police Department recognizes the amount of trust that is placed within our department and the men and women who serve this community, which is why when an officer is implicated in a criminal offense, we believe it is of supreme importance to come to you, the public, with this information,” Herman said.
The chief added that the ongoing administrative investigation, for now, limits the department from releasing additional information about the case.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Police officer, firefighter accused of falsifying child’s birth record
Reporting by Gabriel Monte, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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