Jun
LEBANON — The Warren County Prosecutor says a local man nabbed by a SWAT team in Florida should not have been released from jail on his own recognizance.
Ernest David Collins, 55, formerly of Lebanon who is living in Franklin Twp., entered a not guilty plea Wednesday during his arraignment hearing in Warren County Common Pleas Court. He is accused of bilking $100,000 over three years from three nonprofit conservation organizations. The former part-time employee of the Miami Valley Resource Conservation and Development District is charged with aggravated theft and 16 counts of forgery.
Collins was released on his own recognizance from the Warren County Jail on Wednesday by Magistrate Andrew Hasselbach.
“This in my opinion, is something that should have never happened,” said Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell. “I’m looking into the situation to determine, one, what exactly happened, and two, to make sure that something like that never happens again.”
“It seems there was a breakdown somewhere and I have many questions,” said Fornshell, who added he “seriously doubts” Collins would have been released if the magistrate had all of the information about the case. Court Administrator Scott McVey said the court was not provided such information, and that the prosecutor can ask for a review for the court to possibly revoke the OR bond.
Collins, who was indicted on Jan. 28 on the charges, was arrested June 6 at a home owned by his mother and sister in Mount Dora, Fla. Sgt. Jim Vachon of the Lake County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office said a SWAT team was used to apprehend Collins, who was found hiding inside a car in the garage.
Collins waived an extradition hearing in Florida on June 8, which paved the way for his return to Ohio. He was booked into the Warren County Jail on Sunday.
Barking dogs during the day at a Mount Dora, Fla., residence drew the attention of a member of a neighborhood crime watch group.
The resident told Cox Media Group Ohio she tried to contact the homeowner about the barking dogs.
She became suspicious after trying to find the homeowner’s phone number online, when she learned the person that’s staying there might be Collins.
Collins, was indicted on 14 counts of forgery, all fifth-degree felonies; two counts of forgery, both fourth-degree felonies; and aggravated theft, a third-degree felony.
The indictments were handed down as a result of a two-year probe by local and state investigators. An arrest warrant was issued for Collins on Jan. 31. However, Collins had disappeared from the area.
Earlier this year, prosecutors said the forgeries were more than $5,000 each and the amount missing totaled $100,000. The thefts occurred between May 2006 and May 2009.
The Miami Valley Resource Conservation and Development District is a nonprofit organization administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand opportunities for conservation districts, county governments, and individuals to improve their communities in a multi-county area. At the time of the thefts, the office was located in Lebanon.
The Miami Valley district covers Butler, Warren, Montgomery, Preble, Greene, Clinton, Greene, Hamilton, Clermont and Fayette counties and is based in Wilmington.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4504 or erichter@coxohio.com.
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