Prosecutors say 43-year-old Justin Long spent $8,881.25 between January and March of this year buying personal items with his employer’s credit card.
Aug. 9, the Summit County Attorney’s Office charged Long with one second-degree felony count of the theft for the alleged crime.
Court papers say Woodward General Manager Gar Trayner told the Summit County sheriff’s investigators he learned about the purchases March 28. But when he tried to contact Long that day, the 43-year-old abruptly quit in a text message.
Prosecutors say Long then sent three friends to retrieve his possessions from the action sports park located on Kilby Road in lower Pinebrook.
Trayner told investigators that during a check of Long’s personal tool box, he found some $2,000 and $3,000 of the park’s tools were also inside.
Certain Woodward Park City employees receive access to company cards and must sign an agreement restricting their use, something Long acknowledged to investigators.
Court documents also say Long admitted to purchasing some personal items before leaving Woodward and said he intended to reimburse the company.
But he also told detectives “other managers” told him “there’s leeway” in the cardholder policy he signed.
Long is charged with a second-degree felony because he is accused of stealing more than $5,000. If convicted, he could spend up to 15 years in prison and pay a fine up to $10,000.
Prosecutors have asked a 3rd District judge to order Long to appear in court.
He wasn’t in police custody as of Aug. 9, and it wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.
