By Ruth Ann Krause
A Hobart police officer charged
last year with financial fraud, theft and official misconduct in two separate
incidents has entered into a pre-trial agreement with Lake County prosecutors
that could avoid a criminal conviction.
A misdemeanor charge of
conversion was filed Wednesday against Officer Kirk Homoky, and the felony
charges filed in the two cases were dismissed.
If Homoky has no other criminal
charges filed against him for one year, the cases will be dismissed, according
to the agreement. Superior Court Magistrate Kathleen Sullivan scheduled a May 21,
2015 hearing for disposition of the cases.
Under the agreement, Homoky
paid $492 in restitution to a business that overpaid him by mistake for
off-duty security work.
In March 2013, Homoky was
placed on unpaid leave from the police department after he was accused of
keeping the overpayment and of taking a $20 bill from a car that was stopped by
police in September 2010.
City attorney Anthony DeBonis
said it’s unclear what the city will do regarding Homoky’s status with the
police department if the cases against him are dismissed after one year.
Meanwhile, Homoky’s federal
lawsuit against the city, filed in November 2012, is pending. He contends the
police department violated his rights when he was suspended without pay and the
former chief tried to fire him.
