NASHVILLE — Nashville’s mayor quit his job before he was sentenced in Superior Court Thursday.

Taylor Scarbrough, 57, was convicted Wednesday on charges of theft by conversion, theft by deception and criminal damage to property in the second degree, court records show. He was acquitted of theft of services.

He was sentenced to 10 years on the conversion charge, with the first six months to be served in the Berrien County jail, records show. He also received 10 years for the deception charge and five years on the criminal damage count, both to be served concurrently with the conversion sentence, according to the Alapaha District Attorney’s Office.

The sentencing form says after the term in the county jail, “the remainder of the sentence may be served on probation,” provided Scarbrough complies with conditions imposed by the court.

He also has to serve 200 hours of community service, Alapaha District Attorney Chase Studstill said in a statement. A restitution hearing will be scheduled in October.

Before sentencing, Scarbrough resigned the mayor’s office, the court clerk’s office said. His term would have ended in December 2023; Mayor Pro-Tem John Clayton, who has been serving as acting mayor, said he will hold a special called meeting of Nashville City Council sometime next week to start work on a special mayoral election.

On Aug. 17, 2020, deputies were dispatched to Scarbrough’s home; a man claimed the mayor had taken and used his excavator without permission and had caused significant damage to the machinery, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation statement said.

Three days later, the GBI’s Douglas Regional Office received a request from the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an investigation regarding the allegation of property damage by a public official.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.