The charges of retail theft and receiving stolen property against the Rev. Aidan Smith, the former dean of Trinity Cathedral in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, were downgraded from a felony to a summary offense on June 4, according to court records obtained by The Living Church.
Smith, who has since resigned from his role, was arrested on February 27 as he was leaving Walmart in Economy Borough, a township 22 miles north of Pittsburgh. He had been accused of stealing more than $1,000 worth of baseball cards.
The initial charges were as third-degree felonies under Pennsylvania Law, which carry penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment and/or up to $15,000 in fines. According to Philadelphia-based criminal defense attorney Brian Zeiger, a summary offense impose fines of up to $300 and up to 90 days in jail for certain offenses.
Smith is still expected to make a plea.
According to a report by the Associated Press in March, police responded to a call from Walmart security who said the priest was in the store again after having stolen from it earlier. Police noted that Walmart security video showed Smith taking baseball cards and leaving the store without paying on each of the four days he visited.
He was detained overnight and posted bail of $50,000 for his release.
On March 14, Bishop Ketlen Solak of Pittsburgh informed Trinity’s parishioners that Smith had been on leave since January and had also resigned from the post following his arrest. Solak also spoke about “an ongoing investigation into questions we received at the end of December and beginning of January suggesting that he may have failed to safeguard the property of the church.”
Title IV proceedings had begun against Smith. Title IV addresses claims against bishops, priests, or deacons who may have engaged in conduct constituting an offense under church canons.
“While the civic charges related to Aidan’s arrest for retail theft are entirely separate from allegations that he failed to safeguard church property, the two matters will proceed as one Title IV case,” Solak said. Smith remains a priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
A TLC report published on March 16 revealed that an eBay seller who had sold more than 774 items online, including Communion silver and historical church artifacts, may have marketed items belonging to the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Trinity Cathedral without their authorization.
According to a buyer who spoke with the publication but asked not to be identified, the seller’s address corresponded to Smith’s publicly known home address at that time. The seller is identified as his wife.
Smith’s lawyer has declined comment on the recent development. The Beaver County District Attorney’s Office, which represented the state in the case, would release information only to those directly involved in the matter.
TLC has reached out to the diocese for comment.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story indicated that the felony charges against the former Pittsburgh dean were dismissed.
Caleb Maglaya Galaraga is The Living Church’s Episcopal Church reporter. His work has also appeared in Christianity Today, Broadview Magazine, and Presbyterian Outlook, among other publications.