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WARREN -- A former Trumbull County employee has been sentenced to six months in jail for six felonies related to her stealing money and altering records to cover up the crime.
Vanessa Clark, 59, of McDonald Avenue in Niles, a former employee of the auto title division of the Trumbull County Clerk of Courts Office, was sentenced Tuesday by Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sarah Kovoor to 180 days in jail, with credit for 88 days already served while awaiting sentencing, court records show. She pleaded guilty May 5 to one count of theft in office and five counts of tampering with records, all third- and fourth-degree felonies.
Clark, who was dismissed in January from her county job, was found guilty of stealing $1,906 in cash from the Auto Title office, according to prosecutors, who said Clark also tampered with office records to hide the theft.
Kovoor said she did not send Clark to prison because she had no prior criminal record and was assessed as a low risk to reoffend. The judge sentenced her to three years of probation, ordered her to pay $8,000 in fines and pay $1,906 in restitution, according to the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office.
Assistant Prosecutor Michael Burnett, had recommended that Clark be sent to prison even though she was a first offender because public money was involved. The defendant, who had faced a maximum of 16.5 years in prison, was represented by attorney Gary Rich.