Ex-Easton Cop Gets Jail Time For Wallet Theft

A could spend at least a month in  and maybe up to a year.

According to the Express-Times, James Marcum Jr. was sentenced Friday to one month to 12 months in jail. He must also pay restitution and write letters of apology to the man who lost the wallet, the woman who found it and his ex-colleagues on the .

Judge Michael Koury said Marcum -- who had spent four years as an Easton police officer and served in the Middle East as an Army Reserve sergeant -- will be eligible immediately for work release.

The case began last September when a West Ward man named Edward Gibson lost his wallet.

Gibson heard from a neighbor who told him she'd found the wallet and turned it into Marcum while he was on patrol. Police say Marcum admitted to a county detective that he taken the wallet from the neighbor and kept the cash.

 after the theft came to light, although city officials made it clear he would have been fired if he hadn't quit. He pleaded guilty to theft in June.