OKC Councilman John Pettis Turns Himself Into Jail Tuesday, Bonds Out

<p>An Oklahoma City Councilman charged with embezzling thousands of dollars turned himself into jail Tuesday morning.  </p>

Tuesday, May 15th 2018, 10:18 am

By: News 9

OKC Councilman John Pettis Turns Himself Into Jail Tuesday, Bonds Out

An Oklahoma City Councilman charged with embezzling thousands of dollars from charities he managed turned himself into jail Tuesday morning.

35-year-old John Pettis pleaded not-guilty to three counts of embezzlement and one count of intentionally failing to file state income tax returns. The investigation into Pettis began in April of 2017, after an unnamed tipster contacted Oklahoma City Police alleging criminal behavior.

Pettis bonded out of jail shortly on a $10,000 bond. He is expected to return to court in June.

OKC COUNCILMAN TURNS HIMSELF IN: OKC Councilman John Pettis walking out of jail after being charged with embezzlement and tax evasion @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/worqtIMkyd
— Chris Gilmore (@cgilmoreNews9) May 15, 2018

Defense attorney Mark Henricksen said Monday that Pettis is expected to appear in court later this week and will plead not guilty to the charges. City officials say Councilman John Pettis has not yet resigned but plans to.

Councilman Pettis is accused of withdrawing $25,000 from the Southern Leadership Enhancement Center, $25,000 from the Oklahoma Institute for Minority Affairs and $1,000 from the Rhonda K. Hutson Foundation.

Pettis is also charged with one count of failing to file income tax returns, spanning the years of 2009 to 2017. Court documents reveal the Oklahoma Tax Commission, "has no record that John Pettis, Jr. has ever filed an Oklahoma Tax Return."

","published":"2018-05-15T15:18:14.000Z","updated":"2018-05-15T18:43:20.000Z","summary":"

An Oklahoma City Councilman charged with embezzling thousands of dollars turned himself into jail Tuesday morning.

","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-01-31T20:28:32.033Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-30T21:32:36.180Z","__v":2,"breakingNews":[],"entities":[{"_id":"62421ce46880e45323a6c64a","text":"John Pettis","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421a646880e45323a225e0","text":"Chris Gilmore","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6244cc746880e45323b8921e","text":"Mark Henricksen","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421cf86880e45323a6f4e4","text":"John Pettis, Jr.","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"623fb8086880e453232ff3fe","text":"Oklahoma City Police","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0},{"_id":"623908b66880e45323e5147e","text":"OKC","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0},{"_id":"6244cc746880e45323b89250","text":"Southern Leadership Enhancement Center","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0},{"_id":"6244cc746880e45323b8925b","text":"Rhonda K. Hutson Foundation","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0},{"_id":"62421d4c6880e45323a78599","text":"Oklahoma Tax Commission","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0}],"hasBeenCheckedForEntities":true,"openInNewWindow":false,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e348df0527dcf49dad7c2b9/okc-councilman-john-pettis-turns-himself-into-jail-tuesday-bonds-out","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e348df0527dcf49dad7c2b9"};