Ex-Kent City Councilman Sharp faces May 28 court date for theft charges

Published 11:37 am Thursday, May 8, 2014

Former Kent City Councilman Ken Sharp faces a King County Superior Court hearing May 27 for first-degree theft charges.

Sharp had a May 7 hearing rescheduled to May 27, according to defense attorney Greg Girard. Once both sides are ready to go to trial, a judge can set a trial date.

Sharp faces seven counts of first-degree theft for reportedly stealing $297,500 from his 93-year-old mother’s bank account and putting the money into his account. If convicted as charged, Sharp faces a prison sentence of 22 to 29 months. Sharp pleaded not guilty to the charges in August.

Sharp resigned in January after only two weeks in office because of the pending theft charges. He narrowly defeated Bailey Stober in the November election despite reports of the theft charges.

King County prosecutors filed charges in August against Sharp, who owns Minuteman Press in Kent. Federal Way Police arrested him in June for investigation of theft. His mother lived in Federal Way at the time of the alleged theft.