Former Madras City Administrator William Sizemore, who had a warrant out for his arrest, turned himself in at the Jefferson County Jail on Tuesday and was arraigned on forgery charges.

Sizemore appeared before Jefferson County Circuit Judge George Neilson and pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree forgery, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison. He also pleaded not guilty to one count of tampering with public records and one count of official misconduct, both misdemeanors. Sizemore was allowed to leave on a conditional release.

?He came up to start the process to prove his innocence on these charges,? said Roger Hennagin, the Portland attorney who is representing him on the criminal case and his civil suit against the city.

Hennagin said he assumed his client, who signed a waiver of extradition, was on his way back to California. Hennagin said Sizemore had been living in California ?seeking appropriate employment, something in keeping with his experience and capability.?

No future hearing date has yet been set. Judge Neilson is in the process of recusing himself from the case, court employees said.

The charges against Sizemore stem from an investigation begun in February 2001 by Jefferson County District Attorney Peter Deuel. At issue is whether Sizemore committed forgery by altering a section of his contract without authorization.

The section outlined the procedure under which the city could fire him.

A grand jury returned an indictment against Sizemore, but it remained sealed until February.

Deuel previously said the indictment remained confidential while his office tried to locate the former city administrator, but investigators were unable to make any progress.

Sizemore began his job as city administrator in May 2000, and his hiring became a matter of controversy in August 2000 when his 1986 felony conviction for interstate transportation of stolen property and bank larceny became publicly known. He served 27 months in a federal prison in Lompoc, Calif.

Though Sizemore had previously revealed his criminal past to then-Mayor Marjean Whitehouse and some members of the then-city council before he was hired, the officials did not make the information public knowledge.

The news broke after the council authorized Whitehouse to execute a new contract for Sizemore.

Whitehouse allowed Sizemore to rewrite his own contract and he gave himself a $13,000 raise and extended his severance agreement to 12 months.

However, the current indictment charges that Sizemore made changes to the contract that were not authorized by the city council.

In the Nov. 7, 2000, election, voters turned out Whitehouse and other council members who hired Sizemore, and in January 2001 recalled two other councilors.

In January 2001, newly-elected Mayor Allen put Sizemore on administrative leave. He was fired Feb. 13, 2001.

In January 2002, Sizemore filed a lawsuit against the city, Mayor Rick Allen and former and current city officials, alleging that he was wrongfully dismissed.

Sizemore?s suit charges that he was falsely accused, fired ?arbitrarily and capriciously,? and calls for his reinstatement, severance compensation and $1.7 million in damages from Allen.

Allen said he had no comment on Tuesday?s events.

Former and present city councilors David Allison, Keith Johnson, Frank Morton, Robert Sjolund and Melanie Widmer and then acting City Attorney Martin Hansen are also named in the suit.

Julia Lyon can be reached by calling 541-504-2336 or by sending an email to Julia Lyon.