A former Harford County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputy was sentenced Monday to 18 months of probation after officials say he forged a check and deposited it into his personal bank account.

Shawn Patrick Forton, 41, of Havre de Grace, was sentenced by Harford County Circuit Judge Kevin J. Mahoney after entering an Alford plea to a felony theft charge during Monday’s hearing, according to court records.

An Alford plea acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction but allows the person to maintain their innocence.

Forton was suspended from his job at the Harford County Detention Center last July after the sheriff’s office’s command staff investigated a woman’s claim that he had written a $15,000 check in her name and deposited it. He was indicted on theft and forgery charges later that month.

The senior corrections deputy, who had roughly 18 years on the force, ultimately resigned in February, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said Wednesday.

Mahoney sentenced Forton to five years of incarceration, with the entire jail term suspended. He also ordered the ex-deputy to pay back $15,000 in restitution.

The judge agreed to modify Forton’s theft conviction to probation before judgment once the restitution is paid, according to Forton’s defense attorney, Roya Hanna, who didn’t comment further on the matter.

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