Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – After serving about nine years of a 10-year sentence in state prison, Brent Peters was granted judicial release Wednesday in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court.
Peters, the former funeral director at Mader-Peters Funeral Home, will serve five years of community control upon his release, which could happen as early as Wednesday evening, according to Judy Wolford, Pickaway County Prosecutor.
Peters, now 52, was convicted Aug. 8, 2007, on charges of theft and aggravated theft from the elderly after stealing money designated for pre-need funeral arrangements and filing false insurance documents on funerals for customers who had not yet passed away.
In all, more than 150 victims were affected by the thefts that occurred over a 10-year period totaling more than $1 million.
Wolford said she did not object to the early release on Wednesday with a little more than one year left on Peters’ sentence.
He was previously denied judicial release by Judge P. Randall Knece in 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to local court records.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
