This story was updated on Dec. 6, 2021, at 2:20 pm to reflect the reason the Sept. 14 and Nov. 2 jury trials were postponed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is in response to a reader-submitted question through Open Source, a platform where readers can submit questions to the staff.
MOUNT VERNON — Several Knox Pages readers have asked what’s going on with the case involving Chester E. Woods, III, the former fiscal officer for the Knox County Engineer’s Office.
The short answer is it’s ongoing.
Allison Dumski, press secretary for the Ohio Auditor of State’s office, said via email that “This case is ongoing, and it is our policy not to discuss ongoing work until it is completed and released by our office.”
Woods’ attorney, Patrick L. Brown, filed a motion on Sept. 2 requesting the Sept. 14 trial be continued. The motion states that the prosecutor’s office has been in contact with the Ohio Attorney General’s office, which indicated that it would be presenting another case involving Woods to a Knox County Grand Jury within the next few weeks. Brown requested the continuance to avoid two trials.
Brown filed another motion to continue the Nov. 2 trial on the grounds that counsel for both sides were hoping for a joint resolution of the two matters.
Woods joined the engineer’s office in October 2016. He was terminated in May 2020 for falsifying documents, unauthorized purchases, and dishonesty.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Knox County Prosecutor’s Office turned the charges over to the Auditor of State’s office for investigation.
A Knox County Grand Jury indicted Woods in August 2020 on one count of having weapons while under disability. The charge stems from July 8, 2020, when law enforcement executed a search warrant and found a handgun in Woods’ home.
Woods is barred from having weapons due to a previous conviction for robbery in Wayne County. He served a six-year sentence for the robbery charges.
According to an article in the Mount Vernon News, County Engineer Cameron Keaton knew of Woods’ conviction when he hired him as fiscal officer. Keaton noted at the time that since his conviction, Woods had returned to college, obtained degrees, got married, had a family, and held other jobs.
Woods’ criminal jury trial in Knox County Common Pleas Court has been postponed seven times. The most recent scheduling for Nov. 2 was continued until Jan. 11, 2022.
