A former Kane pastor and basketball coach has been entered into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for theft allegations in Beaver County.

Rodney E. Smith, 63, of Mars, was charged in August with a single felony count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds.

A trial for Smith that was scheduled to begin on Monday was cancelled after he was accepted for a two-year term in the ARD program, the online court docket for his case indicates.

Under the ARD program, individuals have the opportunity to have criminal charges against them dismissed if they complete a list of conditions that may include community service, mental health treatment or restitution. The program is designed for people facing non-violent allegations who have no criminal record.

Pittsburgh-based WPXI news reported when Smith was first charged that he was accused of purchasing more than $30,000 in gift cards using money from the church where he was serving as pastor; the cards were supposed to be given to people in need, but Smith was allegedly using them himself.

The docket states that Smith was ordered to serve 600 hours of community service in a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. It specifically states he is not allowed to perform his community service hours in a church.

The docket did not mention restitution, but WPXI reported last year that Smith paid $31,000 in restitution shortly after the charges were filed.

Smith was a pastor in Kane until 2001. He was mostly recently serving as pastor at the Chippewa United Methodist Church in Beaver Falls, Beaver County.