Messenger Publisher

Troy Police are reviewing more than five years worth of records as they investigate the apparent theft of air conditioning units from the Pike County Board of Education.

"We don’t know the scope of what we’re talking about," said Mark Fuller, District Attorney.

Police on Monday arrested the district’s maintenance supervisor Timothy Dwayne Spivey, 43, on a charge of theft first degree. Spivey is accused of ordering air conditioning units and billing them to the Pike County Board of Education, then reselling the units through his private air-conditioning business, City Electric. He was released on a $5,000 bond.

The warrant issued on Monday said the charge involved the theft of 10 units, but Troy Police Chief Anthony Everage said investigators have subpoenaed more than five years worth of records from vendors who sold air conditioning units to the school district. "We’ve requested records going back to 1996 so far," he said.

And depending on the scope of the findings in the investigation, the charges could change, Fuller said. "That warrant (signed on Monday) was a means of getting the process started," Fuller said. "It says my office has jurisdiction and the police department has jurisdiction to do something."

Ultimately, any indictment would come from a grand jury. And although the grand jury is not scheduled to meet again until October, a special meeting could be called. "If the facts indicate the theft is much greater

I see that as a possibility," Fuller said.

The current charge is a class B felony and punishable by a sentence of two to 20 years, and fines of up to $10,000. Restitution is "absolutely" a part of any resolution, Fuller said.

But restitution will depend on the scope of the theft, Fuller said. "This has been going on for easily more than two years," Fuller said.

Spivey had worked with the school district for approximately 20 years. Police have not released details about City Electric Co.

"We don’t know anything about the private business," Fuller said. "We’re investigating a lot of things."

However, Fuller said he and the police are asking anyone who may have purchased a unit from City Electric since 1996 to call the Troy Police Department at 566-0500.

"We’re hoping that 99 percent of them are legitimate, but right now we don’t know and the police department doesn’t know," he said.

Everage said officers are seeking only to locate property and gather information. "We don’t intend to come and get anybody’s air conditioning unit," the police chief said. "We just want to account for any property that was stolen."

"It’s not my intent to take anybody’s air conditioning out of their house, especially when its 106 degrees outside," Fuller said. "But we need to ID those units."