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Denbo Vesta Six fire chief suspended amid multiple criminal cases

By Jon Andreassi newsroom@heraldstandard.Com 2 min read
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The chief of Denbo Vesta Six Fire Company in Centerville has been suspended as he sits in jail facing charges in multiple criminal cases.

Derrek A. White, 45, of 240 Ridge Road, Centerville, was arraigned Friday morning on a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure. District Judge Joshua Kanalis set his bond at $5,000.

Earlier this week, state police cited White on two counts of harassment stemming from a Dec. 23 incident at the fire department at Low Hill Road, while Centerville police filed a felony theft charge against him on Dec. 2.

Dylan Lamp, Centerville mayor and president of the fire department, said Friday that White has been suspended pending the outcome of the cases against him.

“As the fire department president at Denbo Vesta Six, the department is aware of the pending criminal charges against Chief Derrek White. We have taken appropriate action, according to our bylaws,” Lamp said.

According to Lamp, the volunteers at the department are remaining on board.

“At this time, I do not have any resignations in hand,” Lamp said.

The circumstances surrounding the harassment citations were not provided.

The initial theft charge stems from an incident in December in which White, a landlord, had a tenant’s car towed without the proper permissions, according to court documents.

White told police the tenant living at his property in the 800 block of Old National Pike had not paid rent in four months, the complaint states. However, the tenant had not been formally evicted by a magistrate, making White’s actions illegal, according to police.

Centerville police filed the indecent exposure charge on Jan. 19.

According to the complaint, the same tenant went to police Dec. 21 to report that White came to her home one night between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2021, and told the tenant she could pay for rent with sex and later exposed himself to her.

Online court records did not list an attorney for White.

White waived the theft charge to court at his preliminary hearing in December. He is due to appear for a preliminary hearing on the indecent exposure charge at 10:50 a.m. Feb. 1.

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