Emails, texts also reveal response to media frenzy, doubts about Wood staying in job
Ouray Police Chief Jeff Wood questioned the credibility of the teenage girl accusing his stepson and two other men of raping her at his home last year, while a Ouray city councilor told a resident she doubts Wood ultimately will be able to keep his job, according to records obtained by the Plaindealer.
Emails and text messages sent and received by Wood, city councilors and City Administrator Silas Clarke between Jan. 3 and Feb. 5 also show how officials wrestled with the blitz of international media attention Ouray received. That came in the wake of an article in the Plaindealer’s Jan. 18 edition detailing the alleged sexual assault, and the theft of most of the newspaper rack copies of that edition.
The records also reveal that a handful of citizens questioned why Clarke didn’t place Wood on administrative leave earlier and contended the police chief should be fired, even as Mayor Ethan Funk pleaded for the public’s patience.
Wood, who isn’t facing any criminal charges, has been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 29. Clarke has said the police chief, who is receiving his full salary, will remain on paid leave until the criminal cases are resolved. It’s unclear how long that may take – some cases with jury trials can take years.
The city administration’s response
Media outlets flooded city officials with phone calls and emails seeking comment in the hours and days after the article about the alleged assault came out and the Plaindealer learned nearly all the copies of its Jan. 18 edition were stolen early in the morning from 12 racks in Ouray and Ridgway.
The story detailed how a then-17-year-old girl told Colorado Bureau of Investigation investigators she was raped at Wood’s home in May 2023 while Wood and his family slept upstairs. Wood’s stepson, 18-year-old Nate Dieffenderffer, 18-year-old Ashton Whittington and 20-year-old Gabriel Trujillo were arrested in December and have been charged with felony sexual assault. The 7th Judicial District Attorney’s Office decided earlier this month to prosecute Dieffenderffer as an adult, though he was 17 at the time of the alleged incident.
Ridgway business owner Paul Choate admitted to stealing the newspapers, due to the front-page article, and returned them the night of Jan. 18. But his attempt to keep the public from reading the story sparked an international media frenzy and led to the story about the alleged sex assault traveling around the world.
City leaders initially considered locking down all information before privately collaborating on a short statement they later amended because it contained inaccurate information.
Alerted to a request for an interview from The Independent, a London-based online publication, City Attorney Carol Viner suggested Clarke reply “no comment.”
“These people are ruthless, so less is more,” she wrote in an email to Clarke.
Instead, the city issued a one-paragraph news release. The statement said the city had been keeping track of the case since it was first reported in May, and that Ouray police weren’t involved in the criminal investigation and no internal investigations were being conducted in connection with the case.
City officials corrected the statement six days later, indicating they had been monitoring the case since July 2023, when they said Wood learned about the investigation and reported it to the city administrator. CBI investigators wrote in the arrest affidavit for the defendants that they used a search warrant to seize items from Wood’s home then.
Clarke texted each of the city councilors individually, informing them the city was issuing the release about the Plaindealer article. He indicated he was conferring with Viner and a specialist at the city’s insurance company.
“Please stick with no additional comments, as this is obviously very sensitive,” Clarke texted.
Councilor Peggy Lindsey texted Clarke that the council should convene an executive session after a scheduled meeting on Jan. 22 “to discuss the legal ramifications of this debacle.” Clarke told her council couldn’t legally hold that behindclosed- doors meeting.
“Legally, if an individual employee is a topic of a closed session they have to be invited. You all have to trust me that you hired the right person to protect the city,” Clarke texted Lindsey.
Nine days later, on Jan. 29, Clarke announced he was placing Wood on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the criminal cases. The Plaindealer asked Clarke that day for specific reasons for the decision, but he declined to provide any. The newspaper published a story about the administrative action in its Feb. 1 edition.
Hours after the edition came out, Clarke sent an email to the council, the city’s police officers and other city staff indicating he believed the city owed citizens an explanation of why he placed Wood on administrative leave. A short statement said the reason was to “ensure continued public trust in the police department while the criminal proceedings are ongoing.”
The police chief’s response
Like the city administration, Wood fielded multiple media requests for interviews following the Plaindealer’s Jan. 18 article and the newspaper theft. City records show Wood responded by email to two media outlets: the New York Post and CNN.
A reporter from the Post emailed Wood a series of questions on Jan. 19, including asking his thoughts on the insinuation that the stolen newspapers “might have something to do with you and your family’s story.” The reporter also asked him if he knew what happened to the papers and what he thought about the sexual assault allegations.
Wood replied the next day, saying the newspaper thief had been identified and that he wouldn’t speculate on the motive for the theft.
He said he was first made aware of the rape allegations two months after the alleged assault.
“I anticipate being called as a witness at trial so I feel it is not appropriate to comment on the plausibility of the young lady’s allegations at this time,” he wrote.
Wood responded in more detail to questions from a CNN reporter who emailed him on Jan. 22 and asked him to comment on the newspaper theft and the sexual assault allegations against his stepson and two others.
As he did with the New York Post reporter, Wood pointed out that the thief had been identified and that he wouldn’t speculate on the motive.
“I have no idea whether he intended to frame me or my department. But the obvious result was the appearance of a police coverup. And an utterly incompetent one at that. The story had already appeared online, what could possibly be gained from stealing hard copies? Other than to feed oxygen into this story. I would suggest reaching out to Paul Choate. He has already admitted to the thefts,” Wood wrote.
The police chief then appeared to call into question the credibility of the teenage girl who claimed she was raped by his stepson and two other men.
“The complainant gave multiple different accounts of what allegedly occurred at my residence. The Plaindealer decided to print the most salacious of these,” Wood wrote.
“The only statement I can make about the rape allegations themselves is that I was first made aware of them approximately two months after the incident was alleged to have occurred. I anticipate being called as a witness at trial. I feel it is not appropriate to comment on the plausibility of the young lady’s allegations at this time. I would encourage you to obtain a copy of the arrest affidavit and draw your own conclusions.”
Wood declined to comment to the Plaindealer for the initial story about the arrests that was published Jan. 4. He did not respond to the Plaindealer’s request for comment for the Jan. 18 story.
The public’s response
Public pressure for city leaders to take action against Wood began to mount almost immediately.
A Ouray resident texted the mayor links to national news stories about the stolen newspapers on Jan. 19.
“Is it possible to offer Wood a voluntary separation/severance package to exit? For all practical purposes, at this point his career is over and it’s ruining the image and brand that Ouray has worked so hard (and spent so much money) to cultivate,” the resident texted Funk.
In a Jan. 19 email titled “Unbecoming if not criminal,” another Ouray resident told Clarke and city councilors Wood should resign or be fired.
“The public allegations against the Chief could be corroborated by you with a fair amount of certainty through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and it seems appropriate that he is removed from the position of Chief,” the resident wrote.
She pointed out Wood is a “mandatory reporter” — a professional obligated by law to report known or suspected incidents of child abuse — and would have to act “if he had any inkling of what happened.” At minimum, she wrote, Wood should be placed on unpaid administrative leave.
Funk replied that it was important to distinguish “between unbecoming and criminal.”
“It is critical that we allow the justice system to do its work. And patiently wait for information to unfold. As was stated in the City’s press release that I helped write, we must all work with the justice system to assure it can do its job effectively. There is a process, and taking short cuts, or try to work around that process, puts everyone at risk: the community, the victim, the defendants, and our faith in the system and each other,” Funk wrote.
“The cost of being wrong now is very high. So I ask that we all take the time required for the details to come to light through due process.”
Another Ouray resident emailed Clarke on Jan. 20 questioning why Wood hadn’t been placed on leave.
“I’m sure the City has a thousand reasons for in-action, but I can’t understand why Mr. Wood has not been placed on leave without pay,” he wrote. “His demonstrated lack of ability to maintain law and order in his own home has many people questioning his ability to do so for an entire community. It feels like his office and the City are in ‘damage control’ mode. Regardless of what happens with the legal matters surrounding his case, it appears abundantly clear there were illegal activities (underage consumption) that occurred at his residence and nothing has been done about that.”
Another Ouray resident texted Funk on Jan. 22.
“So now that the whole town knows about Jeff Wood. What will you do about this? This injustice impacts us all in this community,” she wrote.
He asked for her patience and to let due process run its course.
“It’s difficult when I know the kind of people they are,” she responded. “He should not be in charge of anything. I promise you I will not let this just fade away. It’s time for the good ole boy reign to end!!!”
“I’m not asking you to let it go. Just for patience for due process to run its course!” Funk texted back.
City councilors’ response
It’s unclear from the records when the text messages were sent, but Lindsey and Wood exchanged texts in the aftermath of the stories.
Lindsey advised the police chief to respond “when it’s appropriate. Until then, be quiet and let the babble go without phasing you.”
“Sound counsel. Thanks Peggy,” Wood replied.
“And this 2 shall pass. I’ve seen the hot seat many times for many reasons. You will be ok,” she texted, ending her text with a thumbs-up emoji.
The day after the Jan. 18 story was published, she texted someone a link to a Denver Post story about the newspaper thefts and the alleged sex assault, adding, “This is what I’m dealing with today” and a rolling- eyes emoji.
“Ouray has a lot of problems with cops lol,” the person replied.
“If things don’t change there won’t be any cops,” Lindsey texted back.
Another resident texted Lindsey a link to the Plaindealer’s online story on Jan. 29 about Clarke placing Wood on administrative leave.
“We’ll see how it all plays out. I doubt you ever see him in a uniform again,” Lindsey replied. “He’ll find another job while he is on leave … hide and watch. It’s too small of a town to overcome this, I think. I have no clue what Silas will do, but I have a gut feeling.”
“Can’t police the City if you can’t police your own house,” the resident replied.
“Exactly,” Lindsey said. Another resident texted Lindsey a link to a Jan. 19 story from The Independent about the theft of the newspapers.
“Not good,” the person wrote. “I hope Silas has a good plan. Is this the publicity we want for Ouray and how many tourism marketing dollars are being destroyed by retaining Jeff.”
On Jan. 29, the day Wood was placed on paid leave, Funk crafted an email assuring Ouray police officers the council “continues to have strong support” for them. Clarke emailed it to each officer Jan. 31.
“As officers of the law, you are all in a position to understand the need for due process, a slow and steady hand of investigation, and most of all the patience required to do what is right. The council will hold to these values even as we face some members of our community that are very reactive and impatient. The police department is a very public facing branch of the City. You likely will be confronted with public criticism, as we on The Council have. Know that we have your back, and you are all very much on our minds as we move through this sad and difficult circumstance,” Funk wrote.
“I have asked everyone I have communicated with over the last week, including our constituents, and many concerned folks and officials from outside of our community, for patience. I ask kindly for you to be patient and forgiving with our public as well.”
