A Zanesville man with a history of criminal activity was sentenced Monday afternoon for his role in stealing from an elderly victim.

Richard Bundy, 52-years-old, will return to prison after he stole an elderly person’s bicycle as part of a criminal scheme.

According to Muskingum County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Michael Hughes, in November of last year, Bundy took the elderly victim’s yellow bicycle.

After successfully stealing it, Bundy repainted the bike black in an attempt to make it unrecognizable to both police and the victim.

Bundy was eventually caught and charged with the following two felonies.

• Count 1: Theft, a fifth-degree felony.
• Count 2: Tampering with Evidence, a third-degree felony.

Facing up to 48 months in prison, Bundy pleaded guilty last Monday.

In exchange for his pleas of guilty, a joint recommendation between his defense attorney, Benjamin Whitacre, and prosecutors was that Bundy would serve 8 months in prison.

Hughes told the court that the victim’s bike was his sole form of transportation and that not only was he very upset that it had been stolen but that the thief had also painted it.

As part of his plea, Bundy will have to pay $75 in restitution to purchase the victim, who is 81-years-old, a new yellow bike.

According to court records, Bundy has a felony drug possession charge from 2016, a felony theft charge from 2008, a criminal indictment from 2001 (from which his crime is not listed) and two drug trafficking charges from 1994. In nearly every case, Bundy was sent to prison.

When given the opportunity to speak, Bundy said he was sorry and that he wanted to apologize to his victim.

Judge Kelley Cottrill followed the joint recommendation and sentenced Bundy to 8 months in prison, he had 81 days of jail time credit.