BULLHEAD CITY – Bullhead City Vice Mayor Annette Wegmann has been charged with theft in a dispute over furnishings that were removed from a condo managed by a company that formerly employed her. Wegmann faces arraignment in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman Thursday.
The initial investigation started with a Bullhead City Police detective who handed the matter off to Lake Havasu City Police, due to the conflict of interest. The charge came after case review by the Mohave County Attorney’s Office.
“I truly can’t believe that I am being charged and that this allegation has now turned into a court case,” Wegmann said Tuesday. “I am innocent. I am not guilty.”
The first police probe began on June 24 when the owner of a property management firm located in the 1800 block of Highway 95 told police that one of his clients was trying to locate the contents of his condo at 251 Moser. The owner told a detective that some of his employees, including the one who took over for Wegmann, had implicated the vice mayor, further indicating some of the missing furniture in question could be seen in the background inside Wegman’s home in her Facebook picture posts.
One of the witnesses told police that Wegmann instructed him to clear the condo. He said Wegmann indicated she was going to keep some of the furnishings, give some to her son and that he could have the contents of one of the bedrooms of the unit.
Police reports indicated Wegmann said she had the owner’s permission to remove the furnishings, a statement refuted by the alleged theft victim. The owner of the property management firm said Wegmann indicated the authorization had been expressed in email exchanges, but that no such communications could be found when they reviewed Wegmann’s company emails.
Wegmann said she could not say much about the case upon the advice of her attorney Ken Sondgeroth. But she said she has no intention of stepping down from her elected position.
“I will continue to serve as Vice Mayor of Bullhead City,” Wegmann said in a statement. “I will continue to be the hardworking, honest person that I have been my entire life. The truth will come out and I look forward to clearing my name.”
