Former Columbia Police Chief Sentenced for Stealing City Funds

Bowling Green, KY – The former City of Columbia Chief of Police was sentenced today to 5 months in federal prison for stealing city funds.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Commissioner Phillip Burnett, Jr. of the Kentucky State Police made the announcement.

According to court documents, between February 2020 and February 2021, Jason Dewayne Cross, 46, of Columbia, Kentucky, the Columbia Chief of Police at the time, stole over $25,000 from the Columbia Police Department evidence room and drug purchase fund. 

Cross was sentenced to 5 months in prison, followed by a 1-year term of supervised release, for violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(1)(A), which makes it a federal offense for a city employee to steal more than $5,000 from a city that received over $10,000 in federal assistance in a calendar year. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Kentucky State Police and the Columbia Police Department. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weiser prosecuted the case.

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