No new trial: Judge denies Homrighausen request to overturn convictions

Nancy Molnar, The Times-Reporter
·2 min read
Suspended Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen, second from left, meets with family, supporters, and attorneys after being convicted of theft in office. A judge has rejected his bid for a new trial.
Suspended Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen, second from left, meets with family, supporters, and attorneys after being convicted of theft in office. A judge has rejected his bid for a new trial.

NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ A judge has rejected the request of suspended Dover Mayor Richard P. Homrighausen to set aside two guilty verdicts from his criminal trial or grant a new trial.

Defense attorneys Mark R. DeVan and William C. Livingston had asked that Homrighausen be acquitted of theft in office and dereliction of duty on grounds that they are mutually exclusive of four guilty verdicts for soliciting improper compensation.

The request:Homrighausen asks judge to throw out 2 convictions or grant new trial

In a judgment entry filed Wednesday, Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos wrote that she was not persuaded by the defendant's argument.

A jury found the eight-term mayor guilty Nov. 16 of theft in office, four counts of soliciting improper compensation and dereliction of duty. The charges stem from his acceptance of fees for performing four wedding ceremonies. In the theft charge, the jury found that the amount was less than $1,000. The dereliction of duty conviction related to Homrighausen failing to deposit the payments in the city treasury.

The judge also rejected the defense argument that the state law under which Homrighausen was convicted applies only to money collected in mayor's court.

She wrote that the defendant failed to show that there is insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict.

"(T)he court further FINDS that there was sufficient evidence in the record from which a rational trier of fact could have found all of the essential elements of the independent crimes of theft in office, dereliction of duty and soliciting or accepting improper compensation beyond a reasonable doubt," Thomakos wrote.

Thomakos is scheduled to sentence Homrighausen Tuesday. The theft in office conviction bars him from holding public office for life. The ban is expected to take effect at sentencing.

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Richard Homrighausen fails in attempt to get verdicts overturned