Harold “Chip” Webb, the former police chief of the Village of New Miami, has admitted he stole money from his own department's property room, pleading guilty Wednesday to attempted tampering with evidence and attempted theft. Under the deal, he will repay $3,090 that investigators say vanished from the evidence locker and accept a felony conviction that effectively ends his law enforcement career. The plea comes on the heels of a jury verdict last week that convicted an auxiliary officer in the same evidence-room probe.
According to FOX19, Webb waived his right to have a grand jury review the case and instead pleaded guilty through a bill of information to one felony count of attempted tampering with evidence and a misdemeanor attempted theft charge. Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said the $3,090 restitution figure matches what the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation found missing after an internal audit. Webb, 49, of Trenton, told the judge he now works full time for the U.S. Postal Service, and his attorney asked that sentencing be pushed to July so Webb can get the money together.
What court filings say about destroyed evidence
According to court documents, Webb and New Miami's property-room manager signed a letter stating that some controlled items were destroyed “by fire in a controlled container” at a private residence. The judge's order, however, listed a hospital incinerator as the destruction site, and that incinerator does not exist at the named location. The filings and related emails obtained by investigators raise questions about whether seized drugs and other evidence were handled in line with the court's instructions.
Audit and probe found missing cash
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation opened its probe in July 2024 after the acting chief ordered an audit that flagged $3,090 missing from evidence tied to a drug-trafficking case and another $500 issued by the village, according to FOX19. Prosecutor Mike Gmoser personally handled the cases and said Webb cooperated with authorities, which helped produce a plea deal that cut down what he might have faced through a grand jury indictment. The auxiliary officer, Casey Gilpin, was convicted last week on six felony counts related to tampering with records and evidence.
Legal consequences and next steps
The felony tampering conviction will cost Webb his peace officer certification and prevent him from legally carrying a firearm under Ohio law, according to the plea filings. He agreed to repay the full amount that BCI identified as missing, and his attorney asked for time to make good on the restitution before sentencing. The court set a later date to finish sentencing, and Butler County prosecutors said Webb's cooperation helped shape the charges included in the agreement.
