After changing his plea from not guilty to guilty Tuesday, a man will enter the Athens County Prosecuting Attorney’s Diversion Program for taking more than $5,000 from a woman without providing his promised service.
David Marsh, 54, was charged with one count of theft, a felony of the fifth degree, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said he had promised a woman he would move her trailer, but never provided the service after he had collected $5,364 Jan. 13, 2013, according to court documents.
The documents also state that the court will hold Marsh’s guilty plea in abeyance pending a report on his progress in the diversion program from the Athens County Prosecuting Attorney.
Marsh will also pay the required $500 upon his acceptance into the program, though he could be fined at a maximum of $2,500 and could face a maximum prison sentence of one year.
The program is meant to have offenders who have committed a low-level felony or a high-level misdemeanor do something positive for their community, Blackburn said in a previous Post article.
The program, funded by participant fees and a state grant of approximately $60,000 per year, is made up of approximately 100 offenders. Recent participants have serviced the Dairy Barn Arts Center, the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway and the Wayne National Forest, among others. Court documents do not list the date that Marsh will begin his services in the program.
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@KellyPFisher
