Lebanon Raceway mutuel clerk sent to jail

A mutuel clerk at Lebanon Raceway has been sentenced to six months in jail for stealing $31,300 from the track, monies owed from betting on races while working the betting windows. Haley Baldwin, 27, was also ordered by a Warren County Common Pleas judge to repay the money to Lebanon Raceway.

 

Baldwin entered an "Alford" plea in October, meaning she did not admit guilt but could bypass a trial. The prosecutor's office had asked for a 60-day sentence, and the judge could have handed down an 18-month sentence and $5,000 fine, but because restitution was agreed upon he decided on solely the jail time. She will be allowed out on work release so she can repay the money. Upon release, she will be on probation for five years.

 

"I can't get past the fact you stole $31,000...there has to be some consequence," Judge Robert Peeler told Baldwin upon sentencing.

 

Lebanon Raceway director of operations Mel Hagemeyer told the Dayton Daily News, "There's no hard feelings. We're just glad she has to pay it back."