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Jailer avoids jail time (File photo / September 5, 2012) |
Former Jessamine County Detention Center jail captain Brian Shearer has pleaded guilty to theft and second-degree forgery, a fraction of the 39 counts he was indicted for in December 2011.
In July, he pleaded guilty to four charges of theft by unlawful taking, more than $500, which are Class-A one second-degree forgery charge, both are Class-D felonys.
All other charges were dismissed.
Earlier this month, Shearer made his first $1,000 payment of the more than $7,000 owed in restitution, which he agreed upon in a plea agreement to avoid a three-year prison term.
The former employee was charged and pleaded guilty to unlawfully acquiring thousands of dollars from the detention center by forging notices of jail credit.
Prosecuting attorneys recommended three years incarceration for each count to run concurrently. However, Shearer entered into a three-year pretrial diversion in July that originally stipulated three months in jail, but that was stricken from the agreement.
He has not spent any time in jail.
Shearer, 35, of 105 1/2 Cottage St., was indicted by a Jessamine County grand jury on 20 charges of theft by unlawful taking valued at less than $500, four counts of theft by unlawful taking valued at more than $500, and 15 counts of second-degree forgery.
Shearer served as a captain at the jail, where he committed the offenses between July 20, 2011, and Nov. 25, 2011, by forging information on notice of jail credit forms that were required to be filed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky Administrative Office of the Court, according to documents filed in the county clerk’s office.
Authorities grew suspicious in November 2011 after being “tipped off,” which then initiated an internal investigation, county jailer Jon Sallee said. He would not specify the account(s) from where the money was taken.
The jail performed a week-long investigation that found enough probable cause to charge Shearer, Sallee said. The case was then turned over to the Kentucky State Police.
Shearer stole approximately $7,000 total.
While the investigation was ongoing, Shearer was placed on administrative leave without pay but soon thereafter resigned.
Shearer was arraigned Jan. 27 by Judge Hunter Daugherty and then signed an indictment Feb. 2 for a trial date to defend against the 39 charges.
His trial began April 16 and by July 25, Shearer had entered into the pretrial diversion agreement. By doing so, he entered a plea of guilty to theft and could have been required to spend three months in the Jessamine County Detention Center.
The pretrial diversion and its conditions are set for three years, the same he could be sentenced to if he fails to complete the requirements set forth in the agreement.
Shearer must pay $175 a month in restitution plus court costs, approximately $7,400 total.
