Former Woodward employee charged with theft at Terrain Park Center

According to prosecutors, 43-year-old Justin Long spent $8,881.25 on personal items using his employer’s credit card between January and March of this year.

On August 9, the Summit County District Attorney’s Office charged Long with second-degree theft in connection with the crime he was charged with.

According to court documents, Woodward’s business manager Gar Traynor told Summit County Sheriff’s investigators he learned of the purchases on March 28. But when he tried to contact Long that same day, the 43-year-old abruptly canceled via text message.

Prosecutors said Long then sent three friends to retrieve his belongings from the fun park on Kilby Road in lower Pinebrook.

Traynor told investigators that when he checked Long’s personal toolbox, he found that it contained tools from the park valued at about $2,000 and $3,000, respectively.

Certain Woodward Park City employees are given access to company cards and must sign an agreement restricting their use, which Long acknowledged to investigators.

According to court documents, Long also admitted to purchasing some personal items from Woodward before leaving and said he intended to pay the money back to the company.

However, he also told investigators that “other managers” had told him there was “leeway” in the cardholder policies he signed.

Long is charged with a second-degree felony for stealing more than $5,000. If convicted, he could spend up to 15 years in prison and pay a fine of up to $10,000.

Prosecutors have asked a 3rd District judge to summon Long to court.

He was not in police custody as of August 9 and it was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.