A former Ohio University administrator pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of attempted tampering with records, a fourth degree felony.
Robert Myers, 9186 State Route 960, appeared with his attorney Daniel Fowler before Judge Michael Ward to change his plea from not guilty to guilty of a lesser offense.
The change of plea was part of an agreement with the state, which reduced Myers' charges from two counts of tampering with records, one count of forgery and one count of possession of drugs to a single count of attempted tampering with records.
The plea agreement changed his possible sentence from more than five years in prison to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The charges stem from an Aug. 22, 2002, incident in which Myers changed the transcript of a student. According to a Feb. 20 Post article, Myers allegedly changed seven grades for OU student Joseph Pryor, changed his academic standing and requested six transcripts at no cost to Pryor.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Richard Ross said the state never received an explanation for Myers' actions.
We have suspicions but we don't really have a firm reason for it. The actual why is just speculation
he said, noting Myers was acquainted with Pryor before the incident.
The Feb. 20 Post article said Myers met Pryor in the summer of 2002 in Marietta when Pryor asked Myers how retaking classes would affect his grade point average, according to an email Myers sent to registrar Deb Benton.
Also in an email to Benton, Myers claimed he tested possible grade changes for Pryor. Using the registrar's software, he performed grade calculations in what he thought was Test mode. However, the changes were made in Production mode, making the changes actually appear in the system.
The changes were discovered during a records review Sept. 3, 2002. Soon after, the case was turned over to the OU Police Department for investigation.
OUPD investigator Josh Durst, who spent a lot of time on the investigation, accompanied Ross to the hearing. He said OUPD and OU officials were satisfied with the plea agreement.
Ward asked Myers a series of questions regarding his understanding of the agreement, to all of which Myers quietly responded, Yes sir or I understand.
Ross asked the judge to clarify that Myers was not on any prescription medication that would affect his responses, as there had been previous concerns about Myers' prescription drug intake. Myers said he was not under the influence of any drugs yesterday.
Myers had previously said that he had been addicted to Ritalin for two years. He was arrested June 11, 2002, in Vienna, W. Va. on suspicion of unlawful and felonious forgery for allegedly giving a forged prescription for Ritalin to a Wal-Mart pharmacy.
Myers was fired from OU in November.
Ward ordered a pre-sentence investigation for Myers and had his bond continued. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 17 at 10:30 a.m.
17
Archives
Lindsey Nelson
