Nov 25, 2014 2 min read

Daniel J. Clements, former chief of Washington County’s juvenile probation office, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday on charges of theft by deception and tampering with public records.

Clements, 46, whose last known address was 410 Lexington Drive, Aliquippa, was scheduled to appear before District Judge Robert Redlinger Dec. 3. However, he waived the hearing Monday.

Clements is accused of misappropriating funds. The Washington County district attorney’s office filed the charges after receiving a referral from the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board. The referral focused on “possible payment of county funds for a training session that never occurred” on June 6 and 7, 2013.

The affidavit of probable cause submitted by James McElhaney, chief county detective, notes he and county Detective Richard Gluth interviewed each member of both the juvenile and adult probation offices, but they could find no one who took part in any mixed-martial arts training during that time period.

“It was purported that this training had been administered by Justin Watters of H2O Mixed-Martial Arts,” the arrest affidavit said. Watters reportedly conducted this type of training in the past. Watters told investigators Clements told him funds for training “had to be used or lost” and asked him to provide an invoice stating the training took place.

Watters expected the training to take place at a later date, but it did not, investigators said.

Washington County processed payment, and Watters told investigators he cashed the check and provided between $1,800 and $2,000 to Clements “because when this arrangement was made, Clements told Watters he needed money and would need to get at least half of the $3,500.

Watters related this was not unusual as he had given money back to Clements for past mixed-martial arts training sessions he had actually provided,” the affidavit stated.

The juvenile probation office is responsible for supervising sentencing and probation for juvenile offenders and preparing reports for the court on juveniles’ home life and school performance.

Prior to his Oct. 10 arrest, Clements retired and has since applied for a pension. He had worked for the county since April 1994.

On Oct. 24, Washington County President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca appointed John Penderville as acting chief of the juvenile probation office. His position is temporary as court officials are actively searching for someone to fill the position.

Clements is free on a $25,000 bond. A formal arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 27.