Ex-fire chief pleads not guilty to stealing pension funds; trial could be as early as March

At his Nov. 18 arraignment, Hohenberger pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of misusing and stealing funds from the district and making false statements to the U.S. Department of Labor.

A hearing was set for Jan. 9, but Hohenberger’s counsel filed a motion for continuance, asking for more time to review the “voluminous discovery” of evidence. The U.S. attorney had no objection.

After the motion for continuance, the court ordered a new pretrial order for the case with a trial possible as early as March 6:

• Feb. 13: Parties must file any additional motion for continuance. If Hohenberger strikes a plea deal, the court must receive notification by this date.
• Feb. 27: If the court does not receive notification of a plea agreement, parties must file any motions in limine (a motion that can be filed by either party asking that the opposing counsel and their witnesses not mention or elicit responses regarding inadmissible or prejudicial matters), delivery jury instructions, propose voir dire questions, provide a list of witnesses and exhibits, and file any other pretrial motions.
• March 6: Depending on whether any motions filed alter the schedule, a final pretrial conference is set for March 6 at 9 a.m. At this conference, the case will either proceed to jury selection and a trial, or the court and attorneys will set a date for jury selection and trial.

Hohenberger’s case is being tried in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas courthouse in Plano.