A former deputy with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office charged with stealing money from a juvenile services foundation appeared in court Wednesday and agreed to a plea deal.
Steve Tucker appeared in Christian Circuit Court and entered a guilty plea to an amended charge of theft by unlawful taking over $500 but under $10,000, according to media reports. As part of the plea agreement, his sentence of five years was diverted but he must serve 180 days in jail, and pay restitution of $55,000 to the Christian County Juvenile Services Foundation.
During a pretrial conference in January, Justin Crocker, who had just been appointed as a special prosecutor in the case, asked Judge Andrew Self for a continuance of Tucker’s February 14 trial date due to prior obligations. Judge Self granted Crocker’s request and rescheduled the trial to begin March 4 and scheduled another pretrial conference for Wednesday, at which time Tucker agreed to the plea agreement.
Kentucky State Police conducted an investigation and reported that Tucker had stolen $55,000 from the juvenile services foundation when he served as president. He was initially charged with theft by unlawful taking over $10,000 but under $1 million.
