This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Carbon County emergency manager facing criminal charges for alleged misuse of public funds may have been using his county credit card to refurbish his dry-docked Lake Powell houseboat, the county's head prosecutor says.
A search of Jason Thomas Llewelyn's boat found several truckloads of material, including sheet metal, that would be used to make improvements to the watercraft, Carbon County Attorney Gene Strate told The Tribune. A subsequent search of Llewelyn's Helper home turned up additional goods and materials, Strate said.
Llewelyn, 45, has been charged in Price's 7th District Court with 20 counts of misuse of public funds. Each is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
In addition to serving as the county's emergency services director, he is a sheriff's deputy with 10 years of experience and a Helper city councilman, who is on the ballot for re-election in November.
Llewelyn made an initial court appearance in a Price courtroom on Tuesday, when a judge said he didn't qualify for a court-appointed attorney. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 16. He had not entered a formal plea to the charges.
A telephone message left Tuesday for Llewelyn's temporarily appointed attorney, David Allred, was not immediately returned.
Court papers tie each of the 20 counts to July credit card transactions totaling $2,790.67, but Strate said the amount could be much higher.
"The initial reports on this go back to March," Strate said. "It may go farther than that."
An investigation of Llewelyn began after concerns were raised that he may have improperly used his county vehicle, Strate said. That led to questions about his credit card use, which because of the nature of the emergency services duties, is typically higher than other county employees, Strate said.
The county is now combing through "a zillion" credit card statements and conducting an inventory of goods and materials to determine the breadth of the alleged misuse of public funds, Strate said, adding that additional charges could be filed.
Llewelyn is being held in the neighboring Emery County Jail in Castle Dale. Bail is set at $10,000.
Llewelyn was first elected to Helper's City Council in 2011. He could be asked to resign the post.