A former volunteer with the Cassville Volunteer Fire Department admitted he took more than $16,000 from the department.
Judge Susan Tucker accepted 57-year-old David Tennant’s guilty plea to embezzlement, a felony, on Wednesday.
Tennant had access to the VFD’s accounts, checks and a credit card through his role as treasurer from 2016-18, Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Fitz said. He was also responsible for maintaining the books and ledgers.
Fitz said Tennant took money out using a debit card in an “incremental basis” and used the money to pay bills. Detectives with the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department obtained bank records from PNC, and the VFD helped determine which charges were unauthorized and created an itemized list. Tennant was then brought in for an interview in which he admitted to taking the money, $16,280 in total, for personal use.
Tennant said he took the department’s money to pay bills after he lost his job and he intended to pay the money back when he found employment, but he wasn’t able to find a job.
As the plea agreement requires Tennant to pay back the money he took, Tucker asked if he had a job and plan to make the restitution payments. He said he was employed now and did have a plan to pay the money back.
As part of the plea agreement, Tennant paid $5,000 of the restitution on Wednesday. The state will not oppose probation because of that payment.
After a pre-sentencing investigation report is complete, Tennant will be sentenced and the state will recommend five years of probation. If Tennant successfully pays back the remaining restitution, the state will not oppose a motion for early release as long as Tennant has served 18 months on probation in “strict compliance of the rules,” the plea deal states.
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