Last year, Easton police officer James Marcum, Jr. lost his job for stealing a lost wallet.

Now, that theft could land him in jail.

Marcum pleaded guilty to theft Monday in Northampton County Court, admitting that he had kept a wallet that had been turned into him by a resident while on patrol, the Express-Times reports.

According to police, the case began when a West Ward man named Edward Gibson lost his wallet. He learned from a neighbor that she'd found it and turned it into Marcum while he was on patrol. Police say Marcum admitted to a county detective that he found the wallet and kept the cash.

Marcum resigned last September after the theft came to light, although city officials made it clear he would have been fired had he not left his job. He is due to be sentenced Aug. 6, and faces up to five years in prison.