Mt. Pleasant Township man sentenced to probation in funeral donation theft

A Mt. Pleasant Township man was sentenced to two years of probation Thursday for taking $1,530 in donations meant for funeral expenses for his late girlfriend.

Shawn M. Smartnick, 34, pleaded guilty to a theft count and was ordered to pay restitution.

“I am guilty, I didn’t pay it back,” Smartnick said in court Thursday.

He was charged in May 2017 after it was reported by family that he kept the money donated through a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses for Tracy Soles, who died in 2015. Westmoreland County detectives said Smartnick’s mother created the online donation page the day after Soles, 37, died.

Shortly after the account was opened, management of the page was transferred to Smartnick, police said. The money raised was never turned over to Soles’ parents.

Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears told Smartnick that if he doesn’t make payments on the $1,530 restitution, he could face jail time. Prosecutors previously offered to drop the charges if Smartnick repaid the amount, but that offer was rescinded when he didn’t make any payments, Mears said.

“Frankly, if you had made an attempt, my guess is the DA would’ve kept that offer on the table for some time,” Mears said. “You really need to make an attempt to make a payment. Otherwise you’re going to return to incarceration.”

Smartnick had been jailed for the past two days on a bench warrant in the case, according to online court records. Mears ordered his release.