A Canton police officer allegedly stole a packet of over-the-counter male enhancement pills from a Canton store, a judge revealed in court Thursday.

A Canton police officer allegedly stole a packet of over-the-counter male enhancement pills from a Canton store, a judge revealed in court Thursday.

If convicted, Officer Jarrod Smith faces up to a year in jail and a maximum $2,500 fine, though probation is an option, Fulton County Circuit Judge William Poncin told him in his initial appearance on a charge of misdemeanor retail theft.

Smith pleaded not guilty. Poncin set Aug. 1 for a pre-trial conference with Smith's defense attorney, Ronald L. Hanna of Peoria, and a special prosecutor appointed to the case by the Illinois Attorney General's Office.

Smith, 28, is accused of leaving the Wal-Mart store in Canton on Feb. 3 without paying for a 15-count package of Extenze lozenges. The alleged theft was recorded by a security video camera and the store notified the Canton Police Department, which turned the case investigation over to the Illinois State Police.

Because of Smith's past dealings as an officer with the Fulton County State's Attorney's Office, the attorney general's office was called in to prosecute the case, Canton Police Chief Dan Taylor has said. The charge was filed May 17, and Smith was placed on paid administrative leave with his authority as a police officer suspended.

He remains free on a recognizance bond pending the case outcome.

Smith, who Taylor said has served on the Canton department for about three years, also faces a department charge before the Canton Board of Fire and Police Commissioners of failure to uphold professional conduct and responsibility. He could be dismissed if found guilty in that case, which the board will consider in a hearing July 19.

Last year, Smith and two other officers received short department suspensions after they permitted an area college student to photograph them in uniform with department weapons in police headquarters for a class project in November 2009.

Taylor, when he revealed those suspensions last January, said Smith and the other men "are good officers who showed a lack of judgment in this one instance."

Michael Smothers can be reached at 686-3114 or news@pjstar.com.