Matt Church pleads guilty to theft and forgery; can expunge records in 2 years
Former elected La Vergne alderman Matt Church pleaded guilty Wednesday to theft and forgery charges Wednesday before Davidson County Judge Cheryl Blackburn.
He resigned from his seat on the La Vergne Board of Mayor and Alderman July 2020 after facing the initial felony forgery and theft of property charges in the $2,500 to $10,000 range from his former employer, Premiere Protective Services, a hazardous waste firm.
Church had won a four-year term November 2018, and the five-member board appointed him to be vice mayor.
In addition to pleading guilty, Church presented a $6,000 check in restitution to Premier Protective Services. The judge granted judicial diversion, which allows Church to retain his citizenship rights and have his charges and guilty pleas expunged from records after completing two years of unsupervised probation with Correction Corporation of America without any violations of the law.
“After two years of defending myself, exhausting my finances and mental health, I’m happy to resolve the matter and looking forward to the expungement after 24 months with no felony convictions,” Church said.
Prior to Wednesday, Church had been on pretrial release the past couple of years, and continues to work and travel for hazardous waste services, which could include responding to Hurricane Ian in Friday, prosecuting attorney Chad Jackson said.
The probation conditions also require Church to “stay away from Premier Protective Services, and it’s employees,” but exclude any consensual social interactions, court records show.
Prior to resigning, Church early in his term of office had faced complaints from city administrators and an investigation by consulting attorneys authorized by the majority of the elected La Vergne board. The investigation findings determined he had attempted to pursue executive actions involving city personnel when only the mayor has such authority.
The board also decided that Church should no longer be the vice mayor and sought an ouster suit to remove him from elected office. Church resigned before a possible ouster suit could have been filed based on civil law after District Attorney General Jennings Jones determined there was no criminal evidence.
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This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Former La Vergne official Matt Church pleads guilty to theft & forgery
