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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Martinsburg man accused in 2021 of stealing $53,199 from a former employer has been ordered to make monthly restitution payments for 10 years while serving a probationary sentence of 14 years.
Senior Judge Daniel J. Milliron on Friday handed down the negotiated sentence to Jay Anthony Garver Jr., 56, Martinsburg, who was arrested in May 2021 and charged with dozens of forgery and theft-related offenses.
In court Friday, Garver said he was ready to make a $4,000 payment toward restitution.
As part of the plea agreement, Garver will be required to cover the remaining restitution through monthly payments of $417 for the next 10 years.
"I took from my employer," Garver said when Milliron asked him what led to the offenses. "There's no excuse."
Blair Township police filed dozens of forgery and theft-related charges against Garver in May 2021 after an investigation revealed that Garver had signed checks written to Metzler Bros. Inc. of Duncansville and deposited them in his personal account.
The investigation started after the company informed police that Garver, in December 2019, admitted to stealing two checks from the company's mail that totaled about $3,000.
A follow-up investigation identified 43 checks intended for the company, for amounts ranging from $300 to $2,500, were deposited into Garver's personal account from various locations in Duncansville, Allegheny Township and Martinsburg.
Criminal charges indicate that the checks, cashed between 2017 and 2019, were endorsed with the company owner's signature and printed name. But the owner told police that he didn't sign the checks and that he didn't give Garver permission to sign them.
Defense attorney Ben Kahn told Milliron that in exchange for the negotiated sentence, his client would render guilty pleas addressing the forgery and theft offenses, plus unrelated forgery and tampering with evidence charges that the county sheriff's office filed in March 2022.
Milliron imposed probationary periods on the offenses, adding up to
14 years. He also included a clause in the sentencing order allowing Garver to ask the court for early termination of probation after restitution is paid.
The judge also ordered Garver to have no contact with his former employer, as Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mays requested on behalf of the victim.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay
Stephens is at 814-946-7456.