Judge: Town manager can avoid conviction in sign theft case

ST. JOHN, Ind. (AP) - A judge has approved an agreement to allow a northwestern Indiana town manager to avoid a criminal conviction over allegations he stole about 40 political yard signs from his opponents the day before an election in 2015.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports Lake Superior Courtroom 4 Judge Steve A. Tyler issued an order dated this week that states the prosecutor's office can defer prosecution of St. John Town Manager Steve Kil for six months and the charge in the theft will be dismissed if Kil commits no other offenses during that period.

Kil must pay fees of about $450 and more than $650 restitution to the political action committee that owned the sings.

Joe Hero, a political activist who helped videotape evidence of Kil's alleged heist, says the deal "smells."

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com