Hornell police officer charged with theft


A Hornell City Police officer has been arrested in connection the June theft of $15,000 from the department’s evidence room.
Jennifer A. Speed, 39, of Hornell was charged by the Steuben County District Attorney with third-degree grand larceny, first-degree tampering with public records, two counts of first-degree falsifying business records and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
According to the district attorney, the cash went missing in June. The money had been taken into evidence in conjunction with the March 2012 arrest of Steven Brockway, who was charged with attempted murder.
The money had been forfeited and was to be used to pay the medical expenses of Brockway’s victim. State Police were called in to investigate the missing cash and in December, a Steuben County Grand Jury issued a sealed indictment and arrest warrant.
Speed, currently on leave, was the senior evidence custodian at the time of the offenses. She was sent to Steuben County Jail without bail and is to be arraigned in Steuben County Court.