Jailers get court dates

Zadra up first with trial starting in February

Now that the five people netted in a 10-month Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into impropriety at the Gunnison County Jail are accounted for, court dates and trials are beginning to stack up.

Three employees of the jail, along with an inmate and his now-ex-wife, were charged as a result of the investigation, which uncovered a scene of sex, drugs and official misconduct at the county jail.
After being arrested on a felony warrant in early December for failing to appear in district court, Joseph Stromayer was released on $100,000 bond before returning to enter a plea on December 22.
A longtime inmate, Stromayer was charged in September with five felonies and a misdemeanor. The charges include introduction of contraband, perjury and intimidating a witness. In court, Stromayer pleaded not guilty to the charges. His case was scheduled for a five-day jury trial starting June 21.
According to the district court file, Stromayer also waived his rights to a speedy trial and further advisement from the court. Any motions filed in the case by Stromayer or his attorney will have to be made by the end of April.
Tawnya Sponable, a former employee of the Gunnison County Jail and apparently Stromayer’s new wife, was issued a felony warrant after failing to show up for an arraignment in district court December 8. She was arrested again in Jefferson County on Colorado’s Front Range. In custody at the Montrose County jail, she made it to a December 16 court date, when her case was continued.
On December 23, Sponable and her attorney called into the Gunnison district court from the Montrose jail and said they had not received the documents necessary to enter a plea. The court will allow them to return to enter a plea January 6.
Sponable was charged after the release of the September CBI affidavit with four felonies involving perjury, introducing contraband, possession of a controlled substance and accessory to a crime, along with two misdemeanor charges.
Melissa Rogers, a sergeant at the jail now on administrative leave, appeared in Gunnison district court in December to enter a plea for two felony charges and two misdemeanors, stemming from the September affidavit. Rogers waived her right to a formal arraignment and a three-day jury trial is scheduled to start April 26. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Michelle Zadra, a captain with the Gunnison County Sheriff’s Department with almost 20 years of service at the jail, was placed on administrative leave after she was charged with two felonies involving perjury and two misdemeanors. She will appear in district court February 22 for the start of a four-day jury trial after pleading not guilty to the charges against her.
Rachel Stromayer was charged in September with conspiracy to intimidate a witness for her attempt to defend her then-husband Joseph Stromayer, who was accused of assault.
She was scheduled to appear in Gunnison District Court on December 10 to enter a plea but, according to the case file, the “matter was continued one further time for purposes of attempting to reach an agreement.”
Rachel Stromayer will again go to court January 8 to enter a plea.