The sentencing of Ray Wood, the former Hollister police sergeant and 2010 sheriff candidate convicted of embezzling more than $100,000 from the city officers union, was delayed Friday until June so he has the opportunity to promptly secure and pay back the entire stolen amount.
Wood, 54, accepted a plea deal for embezzling more than $102,000 from the city police union where he had been president of the organization. At a Feb. 17 hearing, Wood pleaded no contest to the lone count against him, a felony grand theft charge.
Judge Steven Sanders delayed a scheduled Friday sentence hearing until June 15 – after Wood’s attorney and the special prosecutor from the attorney general’s office had discussed the restitution portion of the case with the judge in his chambers.
Wood’s attorney said the defendant planned to pay back the entire amount, while the two sides still disagreed on a pre-judgment interest payment.
The judge agreed to hold off on sentencing as Wood attempts to return with either a “substantial” amount toward the restitution or “satisfactory proof” the process is in place to pay back the whole amount. The special prosecutor, John Chase, said he was comfortable putting off the sentence hearing.
Wood, who remains out on $60,000 bail, is expected to return to court at 3 p.m. June 15.
Wood is ineligible for probation. The conviction, spurred by the no-contest plea, calls for a three-year prison term but 30 months of the sentence will be suspended, meaning he could serve six months behind bars, according to court records.
Wood previously pleaded not guilty to allegations he embezzled around $102,445 from the Hollister Police Officers Association during a period of more than six years starting in March 2004 when he had been union president.
Wood retired from the Hollister Police Department at the end of 2010 after more than 25 years there. That year, he finished with the third-highest vote count in the sheriff’s race won by Darren Thompson.
The state attorney general’s office in August filed the grand theft charge to coincide with an arrest warrant. It followed a five-month probe conducted by an appointed investigator from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Outside investigator Terrence Simpson reported the suspected embezzlement occurred between the start of March 2004 and the end of December 2010, when Wood retired and handed over union duties he had held the prior 14 years.
The criminal complaint alleged that Wood withdrew portions of deposits in cash and used the police-union checking account to fund activities unrelated to the organization.
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