Former CCSN instructor pleads not guilty to theft

Jennifer Knight

Tuesday, July 8, 2003 | 11:23 a.m.

A former community college instructor pleaded not guilty this morning on theft charges that allege he accepted a salary was based on false credentials.

McTheron Jones was paid for having a doctorate that he claimed he held while working two years as a Community College of Southern Nevada instructor. A preliminary hearing was set for Sept. 3 to determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.

Because Jones claimed to hold a doctorate that prosecutors say he did not have and received additional state money on that basis, theft charges were filed by the attorney general's office.

When Jones was hired in August 2000 he said he held a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from San Diego State University, but the university did not offer such a degree in 1976 -- the year he said he said he graduated.

Jones was earning $61,595 a year as a tenure-track study skills instructor at CCSN until he resigned in October 2002 amid controversy over the degree.

Officials were tipped off that Jones was possibly lying about his credentials after a college official scrutinized his paperwork and found that the title of his degree was incorrect and his transcripts had names of classes that were misspelled.

Jones' case prompted lawmakers to pass a bill making it a misdemeanor to grant or use misleading educational credentials. The law carries with it a $2,500 fine. The law, however, will not apply to Jones' case because its passage came after the charges were filed.