Theft charge against disgraced Lakewood police officer dismissed

Pierce County prosecutors on Monday dismissed a theft charge against disgraced Lakewood police officer Skeeter Manos, as they take more time to review the case.

In 2009, Manos pleaded guilty to stealing $112,000 from a fund created for the families of four Lakewood officers who were killed at a Parkland coffee shop.

He was the treasurer of the union that represents the department’s rank-and-file officers, and took $47,000 from the guild.

For stealing from the fund, Manos was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.

After he was released in 2015, Manos started working for Integrated NW Construction in Tacoma. There, he allegedly used a Home Depot credit card the company gave him to make $2,500 in unauthorized purchases.

Prosecutors say he used tools he bought to start his own construction company in Seattle.

Manos, 39, pleaded not guilty to second-degree theft.

His trial was scheduled to start Monday, but after getting information from the defense, prosecutors dismissed the charge without prejudice. That means they can refile the charge later after reviewing the new information.

Defense attorney Lance Hester said he believes there are inconsistencies in the evidence presented by the person who runs the construction company.

He said he gave prosecutors information about that during the past month, after he interviewed the manager.

“I’m hopeful the state is taking a look at those inconsistencies,” Hester said. “Having reviewed a whole lot of complicated facts for a whole lot of months, I couldn’t be more convinced of my client’s innocence.”

This story was originally published March 5, 2017 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Theft charge against disgraced Lakewood police officer dismissed."