Homrighausen ‘adamant’ he did nothing criminal, headed to jury trial
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (November 7, 2022) – Longtime Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen has turned down a plea offer and will go on trial this week for theft in office and nepotism charges.
“My client is adamant that he did not do anything criminal in this matter, and he’s aware of the offer and he wants his trial,” said Homrighausen’s attorney Mark DeVan at a pretrial hearing Monday in front of Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Elizabeth Thomakos.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Homrighausen, who has been suspended since April, has pleaded not guilty to nine counts in a grand jury indictment, including two felonies.
The State Auditor’s Office and prosecutor Robert Smith accuse the mayor of pocketing around $9,000 in wedding fees and being unlawfully involved in his son’s employment with the city.
Smith at the pretrial hearing Monday indicated he emailed a plea offer to DeVan in August, and Homrighausen declined.
Smith would not elaborate on the proposed deal. Homrighausen also turned down a plea offer from Smith before he was indicted in March. That offer called on Homrighausen to resign, never run for public office again, and plead guilty to a single, second-degree misdemeanor charge of dereliction of duty.