Lynwood Schools Official to Be Sentenced in Grand Theft Case

A Lynwood Unified School District official has pleaded no contest to felony charges of grand theft and receiving stolen property from the school system.

Commodore Reid, 53, is scheduled to be sentenced April 10 by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge J.D. Smith, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Herbert R. Lapin. The charges carry a maximum four-year prison sentence, but under a plea agreement, Reid can be sentenced to one year only, Lapin said.

Reid also will be required to make restitution to the district in an amount still to be determined. Lapin estimated that the district lost at least $2,000 in supplies and employee time.

Embezzlement and conflict-of-interest charges against Reid will be dropped in exchange for the plea agreement, Lapin said.

Reid, the district’s director of maintenance, operations and transportation, was accused of having on-duty school employees renovate and repair his personal property, having a district water heater installed on his property and of obtaining a $15,500 loan from a vendor who was doing business with the district.

Reid, a nine-year district employee, was suspended after charges were filed last April. Supt. LaVoneia C. Steele was unavailable for comment on Reid’s current status, a spokeswoman said.