Sheriff 's hopeful ditches video with felon's testimony
The new supporter was so enthusiastic that Tommie Johnson's social media team put him in a campaign video.
"He'll bring fresh ideas that will be great for Oklahoma County ," Robert Rioj as said in the 30-second video posted on the sheriff candidate's Facebook page.
"This year I will be voting for a Republican can didate, as I' ve never done before. And that candidate is Tommie Johnson."
Hundreds have viewed the video but Johnson had it removed Thursday night after learning Riojas, 36, is a felon who wrote so many bogus checks that he spent time in prison.
Johnson, a Norman police officer, said he hadn't known about the supporter's past.
"He reached out," Johnson explained. "And said, `Hey, Tommie, I support you. I've never supported a Republican before. ... I'm a Democrat but I feel like you would be somebody who would be
fair and just for everybody in the county. ... I would like to throw a meet and greet for you for the Hispanic community.' ... I said, `Of course, yes.'"
At the campaign event this month, Riojas spoke and was very passionate, J ohnson said. His social team then reached out to Riojas to do the video.
"I hope people don't take it negatively," Johnson said of the video. "This was all news to me. . . . My thing i s I've worked extremely hard and ran a solid campaign. ... And I would hate for my hard work to be null and void for something that I didn't know."
Johnson beat Oklahoma County Sheriff P.D. Taylor in the Republican runoff in August. He faces Democrat Wayland Cubit, a longtime Oklahoma City police officer, in the general election. Voting ends Nov. 3.
Riojas, 36, has been convicted six times of felonies involving thousands of dollars in bogus checks, records show. His last name at the time was Chiles.
His last conviction attracted national media attention in 2017 because it was so unusual. He was sentenced then to 30 months in federal prison for buying $41,013.79 in stamps at U.S. post offices across Oklahoma City.
He said he purchased the stamps to do mailin gs for a nonprofit foundation, Citizens for the Decriminalization of HIV. He pleaded guilty even though he had said he had thought there was money in the bank accounts.
He registered to vote in
January under his new married name even though he remains on probation on some of his state convictions, records show. Riojas affirmed in the paperwork that his sentence had expired. Felons in Oklahoma are prohibited from voting while on probation. He could not be reached for comment.
He has been involved in other campaigns, most recently throwing a meet and greet for Spencer Hicks, a Democrat running for Oklahoma County commissioner.
Hicks said he also didn't know about Riojas' background. He said few showed up for the event at a restaurant.
"The sign-in sheet probably has seven names on it," Hicks said. "We raised more money for, I think, the bartender than we did for me."
In a 2017 letter in his federal case, Riojas' m other wrote he has always loved politics and had volunteered in about 17 campaigns.
"Robbie has a heart of gold," his mother told the judge.