Former Putnam County Commissioner Steve Deweese was sentenced on Wednesday, February 12, to one year of probation and agreed to pay $4,000 in restitution for funds that were misappropriated while he was sheriff.

Last November, Deweese chose to enter a plea agreement in which he did not admit guilt but agreed to resign from his county commission seat and pay $4,000 in restitution, promise never to run for public office again, and to being sentenced for a guilty plea on one count of misdemeanor fraudulent schemes. In absence of the plea agreement, the case would have been presented to a grand jury for possible indictment on charges, that upon trial and conviction, could be punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both a fine and confinement.

Deweese accepted four checks, each of $1,000, between 2017 and 2019 from a calendar company while sheriff. The calendar company used a Putnam County Sheriff Department photo on a calendar which it used to sell advertisements. The company sent the checks to Deweese believing that the money would be used to benefit the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department or the Putnam County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Deweese cashed the checks but did not deposit the money in a Sheriff Department or a Deputy Sheriff Association account.

Deweese served on the Putnam County Commission from January 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024.