Suspended Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen has been convicted; What's next?
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ Suspended Dover Mayor Richard P. Homrighausen could get probation or some form of incarceration as punishment for convictions for theft in office, dereliction of duty and four counts of soliciting improper compensation related to fees he collected for officiating at weddings.
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos set a Jan. 17 sentencing date after a jury returned six guilty verdicts following a trial that started Nov. 8.
More:Jury convicts Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen of six theft-related charges
More:Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen indicted on 15 criminal counts for keeping wedding fees
What are the sentencing options?
Thomakos will have options.
According to the Ohio Sentencing Commission's quick reference guide, fifth degree felonies, such as Homrighausen's theft in office conviction, can bring a potential prison term of six months to a year. Probation is possible.
Four first degree misdemeanor counts of soliciting improper compensation each carry a potential jail sentence of 180 days.
Dereliction of duty, a second degree misdemeanor, carries a potential for 90 days in jail.
The theft in office conviction says Homrighausen pocketed less than $1,000 in fees for wedding ceremonies he conducted. The charges of soliciting improper compensation says he took fees for performing four weddings. The dereliction of duty conviction is for failing to deposit the money in the city treasury.
The sentencing commission's guide says the overriding purposes of sentencing are to protect the public from future crime by the offender and others, to punish the offender, and to promote the effective rehabilitation of the offender while “using the minimum sanctions that the court determines accomplish those purposes without imposing an unnecessary burden on state or local government resources.”
The guide outlines these principles for sentencing:
Always consider the need for incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation of the offender and restitution to the victim and/or the public.
Sentences should be commensurate with, and not demeaning to, the seriousness of offender’s conduct and its impact on the victim, and consistent with sentences for similar crimes by similar offenders.
Courts shall not sentence based on the offender’s race, ethnicity, gender or religion.
Who will become Dover's mayor?
Homrighausen will be permanently barred from office once he is sentenced, according to Special Prosecutor Robert F. Smith of the Ohio Auditor's Office.
Dover's Interim Mayor Shane Gunnoe said the law provides for him to continue as interim mayor only until Homrighausen is removed. At that time, the office would become vacant. Council President Justin Perkowski would then become acting mayor. Dover members of the Republican Central Committee would then select someone to fulfill the remainder of the four-year term, which ends Dec. 31, 2023.
Smith said Dover has the right to try to recoup the portion of the mayor's $100,542 salary that Homrighausen has been paid since his suspension May 4.
He said the auditor's office will make a civil finding for recovery to recoup the entire $9,295 in fees Homrighausen collected for performing 231 wedding ceremonies. The jury convicted him of receiving a lesser amount. A state audit showed he received the greater amount. Smith said his office will ask the judge to have Homrighausen reimburse the state for the $3,956 cost of the special audit that led to the criminal charges.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen to be sentenced Jan. 17 for theft
