(Aurora, Ind.) - Former Aurora Police Chief Dana Cotton may be preparing to plead guilty to charges of Theft and Official Misconduct.

The Dearborn County Prosecutor’s Office told Eage 99.3 this week Cotton is scheduled for a plea hearing in Dearborn Superior Court II on Tuesday, Oct. 12.

 No details of a plea agreement are known yet.

After stepping down as chief the prior July, Cotton was working with the department as a patrolman when he was dismissed by the Aurora Board of Works last December.  The dismissal came after he was indicted by a Dearborn County grand jury for Theft, Official Misconduct, and Conflict of Interest – all felonies. He was also charged with misdemeanor Conversion.

Cotton had allegedly stolen tires off a city-owned vehicle during his tenure as chief. He may have also financially benefitted from checks he wrote using City of Aurora funds.

Sept. 24 had been a plea deadline for Cotton with a jury trial scheduled to begin Oct. 19.