Woman admits theft from fund

CANTON (AP) -- A woman has admitted stealing almost half the money she collected for a scholarship fund she started.
Jane Primes, 42, of Canton, pleaded guilty Monday in Stark County Common Pleas Court to one count of theft and will be sentenced Aug. 23 by Judge Sara Lioi.
Primes asked Lioi if she could be placed in an alcohol treatment program instead of prison. The theft charge would be dropped if Primes completed the program.
The judge could sentence Primes to a year in prison, plus a $2,000 fine and restitution of the money she stole, about $2,500.
Primes started the scholarship fund in 2000 in memory of Dallas Green, a 19-year-old Canton man shot to death in 1999. Primes went to high school with Green's father, John Green.
Primes was supposed to collect money and turn it over to the Stark County Foundation, which oversaw the fund, police said.
When there was no explanation why the fund wasn't growing, Green asked police in March to investigate. Detectives discovered Primes was writing checks to herself.
When confronted, Primes said she had a drinking problem and had intended to pay the money back, according to a transcript of her interview with police.
"I didn't see this ruining my life. It was a very good intended thing on my part. ... I was not capable of handling the project. My heart was good," Primes told police.