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PRICE — A former Price police officer will serve jail time for defrauding his insurance company.
Robert Iain Walker, 33, was sentenced April 8 to serve up to five years in prison. That sentence was suspended in lieu of a four-month jail term.
In February, Walker pleaded guilty in 7th District Court to making a false or fraudulent insurance claim, a third-degree felony. In exchange for Walker's plea, one count of obstructing justice, a third-degree felony, was dismissed.
Walker was having marital problems last summer and was trying to get rid of a 2012 Dodge truck, according to Carbon County Attorney Gene Strate. On Aug. 27, Walker called East Carbon police to report that his truck had accidentally rolled down a steep hill, suffering extensive damage, the prosecutor said.
During our investigation, he confessed that he actually let (the truck) roll off the hill.
–Prosecutor
Walker also told his then-wife about the crash, claiming it was an accident, Strate said.
"But during our investigation, he confessed that he actually let it roll off the hill," the prosecutor said, adding that Walker's wife did not know the crash was intentional when she filed an insurance claim.
Walker worked for the Price Police Department for four years, Chief Kevin Drolc said. He was fired in September when the department learned about the insurance fraud case.
In addition to the jail sentence, Walker was placed on probation for three years and ordered to pay nearly $22,000 in restitution to his insurance company.
An investigation by Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training is still ongoing, said Cpl. Todd Johnson, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. Depending on the outcome of that investigation, Walker could see his state peace officer certification suspended or revoked.
