The former chief of the Olney Fire Department has admitted to stealing over $50,000 from the department over a four-year period.

According to a plea agreement, Kenneth Morehead, 48, pleaded guilty in May to felony theft before the Flathead District Court after he used his department’s checking account to make personal purchases between 2012 and 2016.

Morehead was caught in July of last year when the Flathead County finance director discovered an unexpectedly negative balance for the fire department’s 2016 fiscal year. The account was overseen by Morehead, who later admitted to abusing the department’s accounts for personal use.

In exchange for a guilty plea, the state agreed to recommend a six-year sentence with the Department of Corrections with all that time suspended.