LEBANON — A deal is off for now for a former treasurer accused of stealing $16,000 from the Waynesville Baseball Association.

        Instead, Craig Winningham's lawyer asked Warren County Judge James Heath on Tuesday to dismiss felony theft charges, saying no one had proof that Mr. Winningham's signature was on the checks written to “cash,” or that the money was spent on anything but baseball expenses.

Winningham

        Attorney Greg Demos also argued that the case was a civil matter between association leaders because the organization is not incorporated with the state and had no rules governing the spending of money.

        “That's absolutely, positively, 100 percent wrong,” Judge Heath said before ruling there was enough evidence to send the case to a grand jury for possible indictment.

        Mr. Winningham was supposed to tell the judge today whether he would begin paying back the money in exchange for reducing the charge to a misdemeanor. However, Mr. Demos asked for a preliminary hearing to allow the judge to hear the evidence against Mr. Winningham.

        Ricky Aiken, the president of the baseball association, testified Tuesday that league officials became suspicious in July 2001 after checks started bouncing for umpire fees.

        An audit of the association's bank account showed that 11 checks each for $400 to $600, allegedly bearing the signature of Mr. Winningham, were written to cash, Mr. Aiken said. Police also allege that Mr. Winningham wrote checks directly to himself.

        Meanwhile, bills went unpaid and piled up in the associations post office box, Mr. Aiken said.

        Mr. Demos said his client is unfairly accused over an accounting error.

        “The books got messed up. They're not quite sure why they are not making money and therefore, Mr. Winningham must have committed a theft,” he said.

        The missing money prompted postponement of construction of two new fields, which were meant to ease game and practice schedules for about 300 children who are registered to play.

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