Former Warren Police Officer Sentenced to Probation for Embezzling Funds from Youth Program

Jack Barnes, a former Warren police officer, has been sentenced to 12 months of probation after pleading guilty to embezzlement charges related to misusing funds from a youth police explorer program. Barnes, who formerly served as an associate advisor for the program, which aims to inspire youth with an interest in law enforcement careers, admitted to steering funds from the organization following the completion of a charity event in July, as reported by ClickOnDetroit.

On Tuesday, Barnes was given probation and according to his attorney and online court records pleaded no contest to the reduced charge of embezzling less than $200, a misdemeanor, and was ordered to pay restitution of $530 in addition to court costs, fines and also probation fees, his total amount of $1,130 was paid on Nov. 18 detailed by a report from the Detroit Free Press. Marc Curtis, Barnes's attorney, conveyed his client's readiness to take full responsibility for his actions by stating, "He was willing to take responsibility for what had occurred and pay the full restitution amount that the prosecutor requested," Curtis told the Detroit Free Press.

The FOX 2 Detroit coverage noted that Barnes was required to complete an impulse control program as well as an economic crime prevention program, indicating the court's broader strategy to rectify not only the financial but also the behavioral underpinnings of the crime. The scandal surfaced when a senior command officer within the police department noticed a financial discrepancy after the police explorer program, which serves young individuals fascinated by the law enforcement vocation, tallied up a charity event in July.

Following his plea and subsequent sentencing, Jack Barnes faced termination from the Warren Police Department where he had served since December 2023 the termination was swift after his initial arraignment as his involvement in the theft became evident, underscoring a serious breach of trust given his role with the youths in the Explorer Program as captured by FOX 2 Detroit. The Warren Police Department, through its commissioner Eric Hawkins, expressed a strong commitment to the Explorer Program, emphasizing the need for it to continue receiving support and proper resources to ensure such incidents do not recur, which was corroborated by an earlier Detroit Free Press article.