A former Ohio University employee of the OU Gordon K. Bush Airport pleaded not guilty to three criminal charges at his arraignment yesterday at the Athens Court of Common Pleas.
Tom Stellwag, the airport's former chief maintenance officer, was charged with two fifth-degree felonies for theft and falsification and one fourth-degree felony for theft in office. He formally resigned from his position March 17 and was indicted April 24.
The maximum penalty for each fifth-degree felony is one year in prison and a $25,000 fine; the penalty for a fourth-degree felony is 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine, said Richard Ross, prosecuting attorney and assistant county prosecutor.
The prosecution presented confidential information to a grand jury stating that they believe Stellwag is guilty of the charges, said Richard Hedges, Stellwag's defense attorney.
Ross said Stellwag was charged with theft for converting aeronautical parts to his own use. Because this alleged theft occurred in the context of his job, Stellwag was charged with theft in office, he said.
Hedges said the defense has not seen what the prosecution's falsification charge entails and is waiting for discovery, or insight into the information, to make a case proving Stellwag's innocence.
Stellwag said at the trial that he was in complete agreement with Hedges to set a signature bond, also called release on own recognizance. The bond legally binds him to appear at his final pre-trail conference July 24 at 11:30 a.m. and the actual trial on Aug. 3 at 9 a.m.
Stellwag is not to enter onto OU communal property until further notice, Judge Michael Ward said.
Hedges said Stellwag's failure to complete a full inspection of OU's Beechcraft King Air 350 in April 2005 is not a criminal issue and he imagines the missed inspection is not part of the prosecution's investigation.
The three criminal charges involve Stellwag's employment at OU, and the events occurred on OU grounds, Ross said.
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