Man gets 2 years, must pay back $2,500 for checkbook theft from Kettering man in his 80s

Oct. 25—A man will spend the next two years in prison for stealing a checkbook from a Kettering man in his 80s and writing several hundreds of dollars worth of checks to himself.

James J. Savage, 49, appeared Wednesday for his sentencing hearing in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, where he also was ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution.

Savage was asked in March 2022 to look into repairing the man's vehicle while he was hospitalized, the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office said.

Savage asked to drive the truck to the library to get a wiring diagram for the vehicle, according to a Kettering police report. Later that day, the Savage called the man's daughter, saying he was pulled over by police on Woodman Drive. The woman and a friend drove up and down Woodman Drive looking for the truck and Savage and had also called Kettering, Dayton and Riverside police, according to the report.

The next day, Wright-Patt Credit Union called the man's son, also on the bank account, due to unusual activity. Savage had cashed four checks at four different branches, totaling more than $2,500 according to the incident report.

The victim's checkbook apparently was left in the truck when Savage was asked to work on it. The truck never was recovered, police said.