The credibility of the lead investigator for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department has been called into question by the United States Attorney’s Office.

According to a letter from Christopher J. Wilson, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Christopher Perteet, Sr., Investigator for the Sheriff’s Department, has been given “Giglio” status for drug-related misconduct while he worked for the District 22 District Attorney’s office. The Giglio list is a compilation of law enforcement personnel whose credibility or reliability as a witness has been called into question.

Below is the text of the April 14 letter from Wilson, which was addressed to Seminole County Sheriff Anthony Louie with a c.c. to District Attorney Erik Johnson.

“Pursuant to Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972), the United States is obligated to produce information to a defendant which may be used to impeach a government witness’ testimony in a criminal trial. In that vein, it has come to the attention of this office that Seminole County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Christopher Perteet, Sr. was terminated from the District 22 District Attorney’s Office in January 2024 for misconduct including theft of controlled dangerous substance evidence, mishandling of controlled dangerous substance evidence, illegal drug use, and inconsistent statements concerning illegal drug use. The termination bears on Perteet, Sr.’s credibility. Consequently, in all future cases in which Perteet, Sr. is endorsed as a government witness, the United States is required to notify the defendant of the memorandum. Should you have questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.”

On April 16, Johnson’s office sent copies of the letter to various attorneys across the state, along with a cover letter signed by Candice Irby, former Assistant District Attorney.

⬤ Perteet

Assistant District Attorney. Irby announced her resignation on April 21. An anonymous source outside of the D.A.’s office said Johnson asked Irby to resign, likely over the Giglio determination of Perteet. That allegation has not been confirmed.

On Monday, the group “Citizens Overseeing Police Oklahoma” (COP Oklahoma) added Perteet to the giglio-bradylist.com website. The group also added Sheriff Louie to the website and questioned why he would hire Perteet after his termination from the D.A.’s office.

“Seminole County Sheriff, Anthony Louie, was appointed in August of 2023 after former Sheriff Shannon Smith resigned under a deferred prosecution agreement. The following January, Chris Perteet Sr. was terminated from the District 22 District Attorney’s Office for misconduct including theft of controlled dangerous substances evidence, mishandling of controlled dangerous substance evidence, illegal drug use, and inconsistent statements concerning illegal drug use. Given Sheriff Louie’s close working relationship with the District 22 Attorney’s Office, it is reasonable to presume that Sheriff Louie knew, or should have known of Perteet’s misconduct yet employed Perteet as an investigator after January of 2024,” COP Oklahoma posted on social media.

As of press time Monday, no official statement on the issue from the Sheriff’s Department or the District Attorney’s Office had been released.