VERO BEACH – Court records in Indian River County show five charges against former Assistant Fire Chief Brian Burkeen were dropped Friday.
The five charges were for dealing in stolen property for Burkeen’s involvement in the estimated $300,000 stolen tire scheme at the fire department in Indian River County.
The sixth charge of first-degree grand theft still remains, court records show. Neither Burkeen’s attorney, Andrew Metcalf, nor the Assistant State Attorney were available for comment.
Burkeen pled not guilty to all the charges on Wednesday and demanded a trial by jury. He was arrested last month after investigators said he obtained tires from two Goodyear stores in Vero Beach and charged them back to the county. Burkeen is accused of selling the sold tires at an undisclosed location.
Investigators say the retired assistant chief carried out a total of $288,251 worth of tires from June 2014 to February 2018.
Burkeen was released on $125,000 bail from the county jail.
