ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Former Avon Police Chief Joseph Geer appeared in federal court on Tuesday, accused of stealing money from the Avon Central School District while serving as a school resource officer (SRO).

News10NBC’s Eriketa Cost was outside federal court where it was thought Geer would be accepting a plea deal. However, things took a turn when Judge Elizabeth Wolford said stories weren’t adding up.

Geer admitted to the crime under oath, but once he described his understanding of what happened, the judge couldn’t accept the agreement. The discrepancy has to do with how he got coverage when he was called to chief duties while on the clock as an SRO.

The United States Attorney’s Office says the total amount lost was more than $6,600.

When the judge asked Geer to explain what he did, in his own words, he said, “I left school during times I was getting paid, to fulfill other obligations at my full-time job. I was paid by the school when I was not there. I had other officers sub, who were not paid.”

The US Attorney’s Office says he intentionally misappropriated funds. The attorneys also accuse Geer of putting down 6-8 hours of compensation for the time he did not work.

The judge said she is not accepting the plea until there’s legal support that this rises to the level of theft. It’s not clear how many hours total Geer is accused of logging without actually working, but Geer says in most instances — other than 10 or 15 minutes — he got covered.

Both parties will return to the table to work it out at another date.

Avon Village Mayor Robert Hayes issued the following statement Tuesday:

“Today’s proceedings re-enforce what we’ve been saying, that we MUST allow these investigations and proceedings to run their course. As such, we won’t have any more detailed comments until more information is made available.

“As I’ve mentioned, our focus in the Village is forward, and we are honing our efforts on rebuilding leadership in our police department. We previously accepted Mr. Geer’s resignation, and that is done. Our work now is to search for, interview and hire a new leader for our police department.”

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