Trustees accept indicted police officer resignation

February 12, 2019 at 12:00a.m.

By JORDAN COHEN

VIENNA

Township trustees have accepted the resignation of Michael Sheehy, the Vienna police sergeant indicted by a Trumbull County grand jury last month.

The police chief has revealed that $700 Sheehy allegedly stole from a police cruiser was a fellow officer’s money.

The trustees, in a Monday meeting lasting less than five minutes, read aloud Sheehy’s one-sentence resignation letter effective Feb. 6 and voted to accept without comment. Trustees also rescinded a disciplinary hearing scheduled for Sheehy on March 4.

Sheehy was indicted on eight counts including grand theft, possession of drugs and criminal tools. Police allege he removed two AR-15 rifles from the department and used a police lockout kit to break into the cruiser.

Vienna Police Chief Bob Ludt said the stolen cash did not come from a township fund.

“That $700 wasn’t taxpayer money,” Ludt explained in response to a question from The Vindicator. Ludt said a police officer, whom he declined to identify, had just “cashed his check” and placed the money in the cruiser before the theft.

Sheehy continued to receive pay during his leave through use of sick and vacation time until it expired Feb. 6 – the effective date of his resignation.

In December, Sheehy, 32, was placed on administrative leave after accusations of theft at Mathews High School where he had been the district’s resource officer. After schools Superintendent Russell McQuaide informed Ludt about the accusations, the chief notified the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

“The investigation is still open,” said David O’Neil, senior public information officer for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. “Our agent does not expect it to be closed for some time.”

Sheehy, also charged with possession of the opioid fentanyl, has been ordered into a patient recovery program.