Oregon firefighters charged with illegally accessing emails

BEND, Ore. (AP) _ Two people who worked for an Oregon fire department are charged with illegally accessing coworkers' emails.

















The Bend Bulletin reports (http://bit.ly/1lufxHH ) that Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel says police found that the two men accessed emails about labor negotiations at Sunriver Fire Department. They were arraigned Tuesday.

Former firefighter Jason Arnold appeared in court with his attorney. Attorney Greg Veralrud represented current firefighter Jeffrey Ruthardt. He said Ruthardt was absent because he is receiving inpatient treatment.

The men are supposed to stay at least 1,000 feet away from Sunriver Fire Department buildings, but Judge Randy Miller declined to ban them entirely from Sunriver. Deputy District Attorney Eric Taylor said that the men sent threatening text messages, but Arnold's attorney argued that was untrue.

Ruthardt was placed on administrative leave earlier this year.