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A former Unified Police narcotics detective was sentenced to probation on Friday for misappropriating thousands of dollars in cash from a fund used to conduct undercover drug buys.
Kenneth Callahan, 49, pleaded guilty in August to a third-degree felony count of misuse of public money.
He was originally charged with second-degree felony misuse of public money, but the charge was reduced as part of a plea deal. A charge of class B misdemeanor official misconduct was dismissed as part of the resolution.
The felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, but 3rd District Judge Katie Bernards-Goodman ordered two years of probation for the man instead. She said Friday she will review his case in a year, and consider whether to reduce the charge to a class A misdemeanor.
As part of his probation, Callahan was ordered to complete community service and pay $8,485 in restitution.
Callahan's attorney, Fred Metos, said his client was prepared to pay the entire amount on Friday.
Metos stressed Friday that there was no evidence that Callahan kept any of the money for himself, but said issues arose because of his client's depression.
"It was essentially omissions that he made," Metos said. "He didn't file the paperwork. He didn't follow through with things, which is all consistent with depression. He had a number of events in his life that led up to him, in the end, being diagnosed with clinical depression, which explain all his actions."
Callahan told Bernards-Goodman on Friday that "this will never, ever happen again."
"I just want to apologize to UPD for the shame I brought to the department," he said. "It wasn't intentional and by no means am I proud. I just want to put this behind me and move forward and be a proud citizen of Utah again."
Metos told the judge that Callahan worked for the department for nearly 20 years, and was considered "essentially a model officer for years," but Callahan's problems escalated as he became more depressed.
Prosecutor Nathaniel Sanders said that while depression could have been the root problem, "the evidence points not just to sloppiness but taking advantage of [the] system for personal gain."
Charges state that $8,485 could not be accounted for from a narcotics division drug-buy fund after auditors reviewed more than 40 confidential information receipts submitted by Callahan for reimbursement of supposed drug buys that occurred between October 2013 and January 2015, according to charges.
According to a plea document signed by Callahan, he submitted receipts, or "chits," to his sergeant that listed "case numbers that he was not assigned to, purchases of drugs that were not booked into evidence and other false statements relating to the expenditure of the funds."
Callahan, a 19-year veteran of UPD and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, was placed on administrative leave when he was charged in March and he subsequently retired, officials said.