The Murray City police chief pleaded guilty to multiple charges Tuesday to receiving stolen property owned by Paul E. Roberts, a Glouster man allegedly murdered by his son.
The Hocking County Sheriff’s Office arrested Chief Christopher Bishop, 37, on Monday. After just one day, he pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing official business, a second-degree misdemeanor, along with the count of receiving stolen property, a first-degree misdemeanor.
“Christopher Bishop purchased a Harley Davidson Motorcycle from Paul J. Roberts,” Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said in a news release from his office.
It is unclear how the incident will affect Bishop’s position as police chief, and the Murray Police Department could not be reached for comment by press time.
Bishop will enter the Athens County Diversion Program and has agreed to cooperate to testify against Paul J. Roberts, the 41-year-old Glouster man who was indicted for aggravated murder of his father, Paul E. Roberts, 63, on Monday.
That’s because Blackburn said he is more concerned with the state developing a strong case against the younger Roberts.
Paul E. Roberts’ body was found in a well underneath the porch of his home Oct. 21.
Paul J. Roberts emotionally confessed to WBNS-TV, Channel 10 in Columbus, that he had killed his father.
“I swear if I had a gun right then, I would’ve just ended it,” he said. “I’m a monster.”
But Blackburn said there were many holes in his story and that he showed no remorse when being interviewed by the prosecutor’s office.
During a news conference Monday, Blackburn said there is not sufficient evidence to conclude whether Roberts will be punished with the death penalty.
There is also not enough evidence to determine the extent to which the younger Roberts’ girlfriend, Rhonda Degarmore, was involved in the murder.
Degarmore, 37, was arraigned in court and pleaded not guilty Tuesday to an indictment charging one count of theft, one count of receiving stolen property and one count of obstructing justice.
She allegedly received Paul E. Roberts’ debit card — which his son allegedly stole — and used it at a gas station.
She will remain incarcerated in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail on a $125,000 bond and is ordered to avoid any contact with the younger Roberts. She is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial Dec. 3 and a jury trial Jan. 14.
kf398711@ohiou.edu
@KellyPFisher
