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Lake City city admin, former cop plead not guilty to misconduct, perjury

LAKE CITY — Two of the three defendants accused of felonious misconduct in office and perjury in Lake City have pleaded not guilty to their charges.

On Friday, Lake City City Administrator Eric Wood and former Lake City Police Officer Anthony Snyder filed written pleas of not guilty in Calhoun County District Court.

Wood, 57, of Lake City, was arrested on Sept. 21. He is charged with:

• Felonious misconduct in office

• Preventing apprehension or obstructing prosecution

• Two counts of suborning perjury

• Two counts of perjury

On Sept. 21, Snyder and another former Lake City Police Officer Aaron Alspach were also arrested.

Snyder, 45, of Des Moines, and Alspach, were each charged with felonious misconduct in office and perjury.

Exact details surrounding the alleged offenses have not been released. According to the trial information filed by state assistant attorneys general Thomas E. Bakke and Tyler J. Buller, Alspach, Snyder and Wood made or gave a false certificate or falsified a public record or falsified a writing knowing that it would become a public record of a governmental body.

The attorneys wrote that Wood prevented the apprehension or obstructed the prosecution of Alspach and Snyder by “knowingly destroying, altering, concealing or disguising physical evidence.” They also wrote that Wood suborned Snyder and Alspach to commit perjury.

The trio’s arraignments were originally scheduled for Monday morning, but Snyder and Wood filed their written pleas on Friday. Alspach requested and was granted a continuance until Oct. 17.

The jury trial for both Wood’s and Snyder’s charges is scheduled for Nov. 29.

All three defendants have been released from jail. Wood posted a $20,000 bond and Alspach and Snyder each posted a $10,000 bond.

As of Friday, Wood was still listed as the city administrator on the city’s website.

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