Former Christian County High School Coach Steve Lovelace was formally sentenced in Christian Circuit Court Wednesday morning.
Lovelace had entered an Alford plea to misdemeanor counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of property in November—Lovelace reportedly utilized between $500 and $10,000 in funds designated for Christian County High School football for his own use, along with using over $10,000 in funds designated for Christian County High School for his own personal use.
Defense attorney David Bundrick detailed the terms of the agreement, saying he believes it to be a reasonable outcome, with Lovelace set to pay restitution in the amount of $14,072.
Bundrick says if his client makes monthly payments, that amount should be paid off in the next year or so, but if they make the payment in one lump sum, it would be paid off in the next month or so.
Circuit Judge John Atkins accepted the plea and formally sentenced Lovelace, urging him to get it taken care of as soon as possible.
An Alford plea is functionally a guilty plea where the defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges there is enough evidence that if it went to trial, it could end in a conviction.