SKOWHEGAN, Maine - A prosecutor is giving a former Skowhegan, Maine, fire chief time to consider a plea agreement for felony charges that he stole from a New Hampshire town.
The Morning Sentinel reports that Richard E. Fowler Jr. will face a trial in Superior Court if he does not take the plea. Strafford County, New Hampshire, prosecutor Thomas Velardi says he's scheduling an April 15 hearing on the case. Fowler pleaded not guilty to charges in November.
Velardi says Fowler stole more than $1,500 from Farmington, New Hampshire; an investigation by the county attorney's office revealed that it was "substantially more'' than that.
Fowler faces 7-and-a-half to 15 years in prison if convicted. He was indicted in October, about two months after he was fired. He was previously fire chief in Farmington.