Justin Trimble - husband of former Moniteau County Assessor Amanda Trimble - has been charged in relation to the investigation that recently left Amanda Trimble charged with a handful of felonies and a misdemeanor.
Justin Trimble is charged with fraudulent use of a credit device, a class A misdemeanor, and stealing, a class D misdemeanor.
Justin Trimble was charged due to alleged fuel purchases using the Petro-Fuel Card issued to the Moniteau County Assessor's Office, according to a probable cause statement submitted by the Missouri Highway Patrol on Feb. 10.
The statement indicates he allegedly committed the offenses on four separate dates in 2019 - Aug. 7, Aug. 16, Nov. 17 and Nov. 18. The four fuel purchases allegedly made by Justin Trimble totalled 47.99 gallons, at a cost of $113.45.
MFA Oil Company provided investigators with photographs of the person at the pump swiping the card when obtaining fuel, though on some dates the camera was inoperative and unable to record a photograph.
A total of 123 suspicious purchases are alleged, 99 of which showed as the former County Assessor allegedly making the purchases. The probable cause statement alleges investigators were able to identify the instances when Justin Trimble allegedly was the one at the pump by comparing the images at the fuel pump to social media posts and Department of Revenue photographs of him.
The probable cause statement also notes Justin Trimble allegedly would have had to enter a specific PIN assigned to the card issued to the Moniteau County Assessor's Office at the time of the purchases, for which photos of him are captured.
Investigators identified these fuel purchases as suspicious because they far exceeded previous years' fuel purchases for the office; were allegedly made at times when the assessor's office was closed, such as on nights, weekends and holidays; were sometimes for gallon quantities that exceeded those capable of being held in the vehicle issued to the Assessor's Office; and records indicated more than one fueling occurred in a day on some dates. Investigators also learned two fuel cards were issued to the Assessor's Office, with one kept in the office's issued vehicle and exclusively used by a field reviewer in the office.