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Chehalis parent pleads not guilty to stealing from high school senior fund

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Chehalis father accused of writing himself some $8,000 in checks from the W.F. West High School’s senior class fund went before a judge today and pleaded not guilty.

Robert N. Downs Jr. remains free on his personal recognizance but was ordered to visit the jail to get his finger prints and picture taken.

Downs, 43, hired Centralia attorney David Arcuri to represent him. He was charged last month with first-degree theft and 14 counts of forgery.

The Chehalis Police Department began investigating in January following a complaint from students’ parents the account had less money in it than they thought there ought to be.

The fund comes from a a tradition of adults collectively fundraising during their children’s high school years to pay for graduation-related activities.

When Chehalis police announced their findings in March, they indicated only that $8,200 was taken out and that Downs’ wife, who was in charge of the account, replaced the missing money after she learned of the losses.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer wrote in charging documents an analysis is being conducted on the bank records to determine how much, if any, additional money is missing.  His office is still looking into that, Meyer said today.

Downs was charged on April 30, the same day he was served his summons at his workplace, Green Hill School, the state juvenile corrections facility for boys in Chehalis.

It’s not clear what his job is there or if he is still employed.

Charging documents allege Downs wrote checks between June and August of last year in amounts ranging from $275 to $850. The total is $8,075, according to the court documents. Prosecutors state he forged his wife’s name.

Charging documents don’t offer any indication of what he may have spent the money on.

Downs sat to the right of his attorney this morning in the Chehalis courtroom, sporting slacks, a dress shirt and tie.

Arcuri told the judge he didn’t think it was necessary in the conditions of release order to restrict his client’s travel. His family has a sports tournament in Idaho in June, Arcuri said.

Meyer said the pre-trial limitation to Western Washington is typical.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey ordered Downs not to go outside Washington, Oregon or Idaho.

Meyer said outside the courtroom it doesn’t change the fact of a theft – under Washington state law – even if all the money was put back in the account.

“So, can I take $10,000 from your account, and put it back when I get caught?” he asked by way of an illustration.

Meyer contended the funds were not returned to the account until after questions were being asked.

A trial date was set for the week of August 5.

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For background read “High school senior class fund in Chehalis under scrutiny” from Tuesday March 19, 2013 at 9:45 p.m., here [1]