UTM student Marshall Romero, 22, of Breaux Bridge, La., pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of theft of property between $500-$1,000.

Romero appeared before Judge Tommy Moore of the Weakley County General Sessions Court at 8 a.m. He was ordered by the court to pay a fine of $25, court costs of $406.50 and a restitution amount of $985.97. He is also on unrestricted probation for one year, but that period may be reduced if he pays the probation fee early.

Romero was arrested after allegedly taking more than $900 worth of groceries from E.W. James & Sons by charging them to the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

On June 23, Romero was accompanied by one other male as he tried to make a purchase of $252 worth of groceries. E.W. James assistant manager Theolinda Scarborough told police that she asked to see an ID to verify whether Romero was authorized to charge to the ATO fraternity account.

Scarborough said that when she asked for an ID, the individuals told her that they were going to retrieve it from their vehicle. But, instead of returning with the ID, the two men left the parking lot.

Scarborough called the police, who were able to locate the two males at Martin Place Apartments for questioning about the incident. The police report shows that Romero had provided E.W. James with the account password to the ATO account on 13 occasions to purchase groceries that totaled $985.97.

David Rhoades, director of security and management for E.W. James, says that IDs are normally not checked before purchases are charged on an account unless a problem is suspected.

“There is a number that is given when someone starts a charge account. So long as no one knows that number, then no one can charge to someone else’s account,” Rhoades says. “The key is that you have to keep your number and not give it out.”

Rhoades also said that the assistant manager had asked to see an ID because the ATO account had been flagged. “The ATOs had said that there were some charges on their balance sheet that did not belong to them. This put a flag on their account,” Rhoades explained.

Right now, no one seems to be sure how Romero obtained the ATO account number. Sources have told The Pacer that an employee of E.W. James may have provided Romero with the number. However, this information is not able to be confirmed or denied by E.W. James or the Martin Police Department.

Director of Sports Information Joe Lofaro said that Romero has finished his four-year tenure with the football program, but that a decision is pending on whether he will receive fifth-year scholarship aid to complete his college education.