MIDDLETOWN — Two Middletown men were found guilty of misdemeanor theft after nearly 250 MidPointe Library items were found damaged in the basement of a Fairmont Avenue home.

James Slone, 21, and Dereck Archer, 25, both of 1513 Fairmount Ave., were arrested June 14 for felony theft. They were found guilty Friday in Middletown Municipal Court on downgraded first-degree misdemeanor charges, according to court records.

Slone had checked out 148 items from the library, formerly known as the Middletown Public Library, and had more than $3,300 in fines and fees, according to police. Archer had checked out 98 items and had more than $2,000 in fines and fees.

The items were recovered on June 2, but charges were not filed until June 14, according to police records.

Police said the two never returned the items and “it appeared all of the items had been damaged where someone had attempted to remove all of the (Middletown Public Library) labeling.”

Both men were sentenced to 90 days in jail, though 87 days were suspended, and placed on probation until June 15, 2013. Slone owes $90 in fines and court costs and Archer owes $710 in fines and court costs.

MidPointe Library spokeswoman Cari Hillman said because of the library’s confidentiality clause, she cannot say the total value of the items stolen or if they were stolen over time. She said the library does allow up to 150 items to be checked out on a library card at one time.

However, she’s pleased the two were caught.

“These are the public’s materials,” she said. “They were stolen from the public.”

Hillman said they are putting new security measures in place to prevent this type of theft from happening in the future.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com. Follow at twitter.com/mdpitman.