A preliminary hearing will be held at 2 this afternoon in Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte for theft charges filed against suspended Undergraduate Student Government Senate Vice President J. David James.

USG suspended James, 228 S. Allen St., for allegedly diverting money from the USG office to a personal bank account. He is accused of taking $570 in cash and checks made out to USG last year and depositing the funds in a Peoples National Bank account titled "United Sanguinary Gladiators," according to records from the district magistrate's office in Philipsburg.

James reportedly took the money and checks from the USG office in December. He is also charged with taking another $280 from the office in November. The charges against James for allegedly embezzling from the USG include theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and burglary.

He has already been charged with unrelated forgery and theft by deception from an earlier incident in Northampton County, where he has remained incarcerated awaiting a separate trial.

Two weeks ago, Centre County District Justice Robert Shoff delayed today's hearing to allow both prosecutor Jeff Yates and defense attorney Bradley P. Lunsford extra time to prepare their cases.