Man sentenced to probation, jail for theft

NORWALK — A Butler, Ohio, man pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Monday for his role in helping his parents allegedly steal over $43,000 from an elderly man living in their Greenwich home. At a court hearing, Clyde R. Robertson Jr., 36, was convicted on one count of theft from a person in a protected class, a fifth-degree felony. Robertson Jr. pleaded guilty to the one count on the same day in exchange for one additional count of the same charge to be dismissed. Huron County Common Pleas Court Judge James Conway sentenced Robertson Jr. to serve approximately three months in the Huron County Jail and three years of probation, according to court records. Under the terms of his sentencing, Robertson Jr. is required to pay $300 in restitution to the victim, according to court records. Robertson Jr., along with his father, Clyde R. Robertson Sr., 64, and stepmother, Christy L. Robertson, 63, both of the first block of Countryside Drive, Greenwich, were all indicted by a Huron County grand jury on May 13. Both Robertson Sr. and Christy Robertson had a court hearing on Tuesday morning, according to court records. Both have pretrial hearings scheduled for 9 a.m. on Aug. 13. Background The victim in the case is listed in all three indictments as a 65-year-old man who is a "disabled adult, active duty service member or spouse of an active duty service member," according to court records. An investigation into the Robertsons began on May 6, 2024, when a man and woman, a married couple related to the victim, brought the victim to the Greenwich Police Department to file a police report. The couple told police that the man had been living with the Robertsons at their Greenwich home and that they were taking advantage of him, according to a Greenwich police report. The couple said that the victim underwent surgery in 2023 and decided he could not live alone, and opted to move in with his former neighbors, the Robertsons. On July 28, 2023, the couple went to the victim's house to check on him. When they arrived, he wasn't home, but his car was in the garage. The wife told the police she left some candy and a note at his door asking him to call her. The wife said that several weeks had passed, and she and her husband still had not heard from the man. Her father drove down to see him on Oct. 14, where he located a "for sale" sign in the victim's yard, the house was updated and the man's car was gone. The wife explained that the family was able to get a phone number through the man's realtor, and that the number belonged to Christy Robertson, the report states. The following day, the couple was able to call Christy and talk with the man. During the phone call, the wife asked him questions about his house, property and health, but he was unable to answer most of them. The wife told police that whenever she called to speak with the man, the phone was on speaker, and Christy was always present and answered on his behalf, the report states. In a later phone call in March 2024, the victim contacted his family again and claimed that he was being "mistreated" and "taken advantage of," and that the Robertsons were taking his money, according to the report. After meeting with him at a restaurant, the couple learned more about the alleged theft of his money and the three returned to the home to speak with the Robertsons, according to the report. While inside the Robertsons' home, the couple learned that the man's banking information was allegedly on Christy Robertson's phone, and when they called the credit card company to freeze the man's Discover card, the couple learned about the amount allegedly stolen from the man's account, according to the report. The man reportedly told the woman that he had never given the Robertsons permission to use his credit card, and that Christy and other members of the household would already have checks filled out for him to sign, the report states. He added that if he refused to sign the checks, they would allegedly threaten to kick him out of the house. He additionally said that he was allegedly "required to pay $14,500 for new heating" in the Robertsons' house, as well as a new washer and dryer and that he had $40,000 in his checking account when he first moved in, and his account was now empty, according to the report. The couple provided information to police, which showed that Christy had linked his Discover card number to her Apple Pay account and that his card was used over 100 times, totaling over $11,000, the report states. An officer went through both the man's bank checking statements and the Discover card statements, which allegedly showed that the Robertsons made the following transactions, according to the report: • 10 checks written to Christy Robertson totaling $7,100 • 2 checks written to Robertson Sr. totaling $1,200 • 2 checks written to Robertson Jr. totaling $300 • 4 checks written to another individual who appears not to have been indicted, totaling $958 • From Nov. 11, 2023, to March 15, 2024, there were 97 charges from Temu totaling over $6,000 • Multiple charges from home improvement stores totaled over $3,000