Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 22, 1995                   TAG: 9507240032
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SENTENCE CONVERTED TO SERVICE

Judge G.O. Clemens agreed Friday to let Houff do 200 hours of community service in lieu of the 30-day jail sentence Clemens had imposed in June.

The only stipulation, Clemens said, is that the volunteer work cannot be done with the rescue squad. It has not been determined where Houff will do his community service. He has until Jan. 31, 1996, to complete it.

Houff, 31, was convicted of embezzlement for stealing money from the squad's Good Neighbor Fund.

He had faced 11 felony charges, but five forgery charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement with Salem Commonwealth's Attorney Fred King.

Clemens dismissed five counts of uttering - passing a forged check - at Houff's June sentencing hearing.

Houff was back in court Friday to find out if he would have to go to jail or if his sentence could be diverted to community service.

The charges resulted from five checks Houff drew on the squad's Good Neighbor Fund.

Squad members opened the account to provide money to people in the community who cannot pay their medical expenses. But just months after the squad had established the account, Houff began stealing from it.

At his trial in April, when he pleaded no contest to embezzlement and two counts of uttering, Houff admitted writing two checks - totaling $1,600 - to himself.

Two additional checks, which Houff has said he used to buy food for squad workers at the Salem Fair, were written to a Harris Teeter grocery store.

The remaining check was written to O'Brien's Meats to buy hot dogs and hamburgers for a squad picnic at Olde Salem Days, Houff said at his trial.

Houff has admitted that he signed his name and forged the name of then-squad Treasurer Ken McCauley on all the checks.

Although neither King nor sentencing guidelines recommended jail time, Clemens said he wanted to make an example out of Houff.

He had not changed his mind on Friday.

``What he did was wrong, and I wanted to send a message to others that if they did this, they can expect to spend some time in jail,'' Clemens said.

However, it was Clemens who recommended that Houff be considered for a work release program or have his sentence diverted to community service.

Houff has repaid the squad $1,993.98 for the five checks and others he wrote from the account but never was charged for. His attorney, Randy Cargill, said Houff would pay another $1,500 Friday, completing his restitution.

Houff no longer is a member of the squad. In April, he left city employment as a firefighter. He is working part time at the Roanoke Athletic Club. At the end of the month, he plans to open a car detailing shop in Salem.