GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A criminal charge has been dismissed against an elected official in the Grand Rapids area who was accused of stealing more than $20,000 in a real estate deal.
A Kent County judge scratched a larceny-by-conversion charge Friday against Jay Spencer, who is the supervisor in Plainfield Township.
Jolan Jackson invested $241,000 with Spencer to buy, fix up and sell a house in 2011. But police say about $180,000 was spent on non-business items.
Spencer’s attorney, Peter Walsh, says the criminal charge was inappropriate, especially when the parties already were involved in a civil lawsuit over the same issue.
Walsh says a tough housing market had hurt Spencer’s real estate work at the time.
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