Former deputy sentenced to probation in lottery ticket theft case

Connor R. Newman, a former Oneida County sheriff’s deputy and part-time Phillips police officer, was sentenced to one year of probation last week after pleading no contest to misdemeanor theft. According to the criminal complaint, he scratched off dozens of lottery tickets without paying for them while working at a local gas station.
Newman, 32, of Harshaw, entered the plea under an agreement in which prosecutors moved to amend the original felony charge, forging a lottery ticket, down to misdemeanor theft. A related felony bail jumping charge was dismissed but read in, meaning the court could consider it at sentencing but could not impose additional punishment for it.
Oneida County circuit judge Mary Sowinski withheld Newman’s sentence, meaning he will not learn the length of any prison term or fine unless his probation is revoked. As a condition of probation, Newman must pay full restitution of $4,401.10 — $4,001 plus a 10% post-disposition surcharge — in monthly installments of $400 beginning Aug. 1. The owner of the gas station is to be reimbursed before the Department of Revenue, the judge said.
Assistant district attorney Ben Meyer told the court Newman worked at a gas station when the owner noticed discrepancies in the store’s lottery ticket inventory. Surveillance footage showed Newman taking tickets and scratching them off without paying. When confronted, Newman admitted to deputies that he had been taking and scratching tickets, and said he intended to pay the store back. Prosecutors said the case involved 52 tickets, according to the criminal complaint.
“[Newman] does have a work ethic which enabled him to ... take responsibility right away, and get back to work on his own,” said defense attorney Peter J. Nickitas, who asked the court to follow the joint recommendation of probation with no incarceration.
Newman apologized to the court before sentencing.
The judge noted Newman has no other prior criminal convictions, is an honorably discharged military veteran, and took judicial notice of two other recently dismissed Oneida County civil cases involving Newman — a small claims action and a mortgage foreclosure matter — saying they suggested Newman “may have faced some hurdles in his life that he dealt with in an inappropriate way.”
However, the judge was sharply critical of Newman’s decision-making, saying that scratching off 52 tickets in an apparent attempt to recoup losses showed poor judgment.
“Not only is the offense serious under the standards the court has to follow, but it’s just a problem with Mr. Newman’s character that is concerning,” the judge said.
The court also weighed Newman’s pending case in Price County, where he faces three felony counts of misconduct in office tied to his prior employment as a part-time Phillips police officer. According to a criminal complaint filed in that case, Newman allegedly engaged in sexual encounters with a woman described as a known methamphetamine user while on duty, falsified activity reports, and shared drug investigation information with her. A status conference in the Price County case is scheduled for July 15; no trial date has been set. The judge noted that the Price County case was unlikely to be resolved within the next year and said it should not prevent Newman from making restitution payments in the Oneida County case.