MESSAGE FROM PROSECUTOR SHERRI BEVAN WALSH

Contact:  April Wiesner

(330) 643-8386

Dorsey Guilty of Theft and Drug Charges

(October 27, 2011… Akron) … Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced today that late yesterday a jury found Stephen Dorsey, 52, of Newton Street in Akron, guilty of Theft of Drugs, a third-degree felony; Theft from the Disabled, a fifth-degree felony; Tampering with Evidence, a third-degree felony; Cultivation of Marijuana, a misdemeanor; and Possession of Marijuana, a misdemeanor.

Dorsey acted as a caretaker for a terminally ill neighbor, looking in on him periodically and sometimes taking him to doctor’s appointments. When the man’s family noticed certain items – such as pills, a wallet and credit card – were missing, they told Dorsey he was no longer allowed to enter the apartment. The man’s son then moved his father into his home and posted a sign on the door advising that the police had been notified that no one was to enter the apartment. Two days later the son returned to his father’s apartment to retrieve some more belongings, discovered his father’s furniture in the front yard with a “for sale” sign on it and called police.

When police executed a search warrant for Dorsey’s home, they found the victim’s wallet and some financial paperwork, as well as two large marijuana plants growing outside one of the windows. While police were conducting the search, Dorsey asked to use the bathroom and attempted to flush oxycontin down the toilet. Dorsey later admitted he stole the oxycontin from the victim.

Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands will sentence Dorsey on Monday, October 31 at 2:00 p.m.

-30-