PIKE COUNTY — Suspended Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader entered guilty pleas Thursday to several charges including theft in office and will be forced from his position as sheriff as part of his pleas, our news partners at WBNS-TV report.
RELATED: Pike County sheriff indefinitely suspended as he awaits trial
Reader was suspended as sheriff in 2019 after an investigation was launched. He was accused of stealing money from drug busts to support a gambling addiction.
>>Indicted Pike County sheriff says he’s running again
Thursday he entered guilty pleas to several felony charges including theft in office and tampering with evidence.
As a part of his plea deal, Reader will not be allowed to work as a peace officer or work for any public office in Ohio, the station reports.
Reader faces a maximum penalty of several months in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
It was not known when Reader will be sentenced.
Reader became a well-known name amid the investigation into the 2016 execution-style shootings of eight members of the Rhoden family in Pike County. Eventually, the Wagner family — a couple, their two adult sons — were charged with murder in connection to the homicides.
The charges against Reader were not connected to the slayings.
Cox Media Group
