Coles Co. (ECWd) –
For those who have given up on local government accountability, rest assured your voice matters. After a single tip back in 2023 and one Freedom of Information Act request to the Oakland Fire Protection District, we uncovered the criminal conduct of the father and son duo who were trustees at the time. One of those trustees during that crime spree was the wife of Kyley Willison. While she was never charged, her husband was convicted of his crimes last year. The entire board resigned after receiving our FOIA request, and here we are over three years later, and another guilty plea was obtained. Numerous articles on this matter can be found at this link.
The former Oakland Fire Protection District Trustee, Jerry Willison, has pled guilty to 1 count of Official Misconduct, a Class 3 Felony, in exchange for the dropping of his other 6 felony charges.
“Deft is placed on 24 monts of Second Chance Probation, pay a fine of $500 plus costs and assessments as pursuant to the FSO, 100 hrs community service, with 50 hrs to be completed within the first yearr, 180 days in jail, all stayed, the Deft is not to possess any firearm or dangerous weapons, and subject to random drug testing no less than 3 times during the period of probation, the Deft is to not hold any elected or public office position during probation. By agreement, counts I-V, and VII are dismissed.”
Not quite the laughing matter he tried to make it out to be, as shared in this article.
One person speaking up is what made this all happen, so again, do not give up hope that some form of accountability can be obtained. As it relates to the Oakland Fire Protection District, Kyley Willison was ordered to pay over $225,000 in restitution, whereas his father appears to have gotten off rather easily in light of the Second Chance Probation placement. If he stays out of trouble during those 2 years, his record gets wiped clean.
