An exchange of thousands of pages of records between prosecutors and defense attorneys continues to delay the court process for ex-Kent City Councilman Ken Sharp.
Sharp had a King County Superior Court hearing on his first-degree theft charges continued to April 16 from April 2. Several other hearing dates previously were continued.
“During the discovery process, we are providing records to each other,” said Sharp’s defense attorney Mark Prothero in an email. “As those records are reviewed, new issues come up and more records need to be exchanged.”
Discovery is the exchange of information between the prosecutor and defense about the evidence and witnesses they’ll present at trial. Once both sides are ready, a case can go to trial.
“Ken is cooperating fully in providing the state with what they have asked for,” Prothero said.
Sharp, who owns Minuteman Press in Kent, faces seven counts of first-degree theft for reportedly stealing $297,500 from his 93-year-old mother’s bank account and putting the money into his account. If convicted as charged, Sharp faces a prison sentence of 22 to 29 months. Sharp pleaded not guilty to the charges in August.
“There have been at least 5,000 pages of records exchanged throughout this process and it takes awhile to go through them all and try to get an understanding of what was going on,” Prothero said. “That’s why there have been these delays.”
Sharp resigned in January after only two weeks in office because of the pending theft charges. He defeated Bailey Stober in the November election. The council appointed Brenda Fincher to replace Sharp.
King County prosecutors filed charges in August against Sharp. Federal Way Police arrested him in June for investigation of theft. His mother lived in Federal Way at the time of the alleged theft.
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