Former Olney fire chief sentenced for embezzlement

A former Olney Fire Department chief has received suspended sentences more than a year after allegations of embezzlement were brought forward by residents and fire district trustees.

Ken Morehead, 48, was previously convicted of felony theft by common scheme and misdemeanor bail jumping.

Morehead received a six-year sentence to the Department of Corrections to run concurrently with a six-month sentence to the Flathead County Detention Center — with all time suspended for both cases — by Flathead District Court Judge Robert Allison on Thursday. Morehead was given credit for 14 days served. The sentence follows the state’s recommendation as per a plea agreement.

As part of the sentence, Morehead must pay $26,911.61 in restitution to the Olney Fire District. As a result of the amount of restitution, public defender fees were waived.

“I would like to apologize to the Olney Fire District for my actions and to Flathead County,” Morehead said when asked by Allison if he wanted to address the court.

Allison responded, “I imagine they appreciate your apology and what’s going to actually make it more genuine is if you actually pay this restitution on a regular schedule and pay at a rate that gets it paid in full — it’s quite a bit of money — within six years.”

Allison also noted, “Don’t just blow this off or the six years can almost become a much lengthier sentence because toward the end of it, if you haven’t paid they’ll file a petition to revoke your suspended sentence.”

According to court documents, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received a report of theft from the Olney Fire District on July 29, 2016 when it was discovered that an account had an unexpected negative balance. The account was managed by Morehead, who at the time, was fire chief. An audit subsequently determined Morehead made personal, unauthorized purchases not related to fire district operations using the Olney Fire District checking account and credit cards reportedly totaling $51,722.09 between January 2012 and July 2016, according to court documents.

Morehead officially resigned from his position as fire chief on July 27, 2016.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.