By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A judge sent a former Chehalis official directly to jail today when he was sentenced for stealing cash from a city safe.
Jeffrey C. Shine, 41, was arrested and fired in April. The 16-year employee was the city’s building official, responsible for looking over construction sites and making sure code is followed.
Shine pleaded guilty today to second-degree burglary and third-degree theft.
Prosecutors say he admitted going into the community development building at night wearing gloves and stole about $750. An estimated $360 was money donated for the medically ailing daughter of Jeff and Angie Elder, a pair of police department employees. The burglary was discovered in mid-November; the bottoms were cut from locked money bags.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt was blunt when he sentenced the Longview resident this morning to two months in jail and two years of community custody.
“You cannot steal from the vulnerable and the citizens of Chehalis without there being great consequences,” Hunt said. “As you go down to the jail, what you should be thinking about is who it is that put you in this position.”
Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer had asked for three months incarceration, the top end of the standard sentencing range for the crime.
Defense attorney Kenneth Johnson requested “something comparable to a suspended sentence with no jail time.
Johnson spoke at length about the penalties his client has already endured.
His career is basically “down the drain, his good name is ruined and he’s embarrassed his family, Johnson said.
The family lost two-thirds of its income, his wife has a Montessori school in Longview that basically shuts down in the summer, and they are facing potential bankruptcy and the loss of their house, he said.
“It was a combination of a bad situation he got himself into and his depression which led to this crime,” Johnson said.
Johnson said Shine found himself the victim of a swindle after he made an $18,000 credit card purchase over the Internet of what he thought was gold but turned out to be worthless. The bills were coming due and he was afraid his wife would find out, according to Johnson.
“This is a defendant the court is not likely to see back, he’s very embarrassed and wants to make it right,” he said.
The judge was unswayed by Johnson’s appeal and by Shine’s statement’s before the sentence was announced.
Shine called it a stupid decision.
“I destroyed my job, I’m just severely embarrassed,” he told the judge. “I just can’t explain how remorseful I am.”
Johnson said his client had even offered to pay the city back, but they declined.