A suspended North Providence police chief on Monday rejected an offer from prosecutors that would keep him out of prison on charges that he stole hundreds of dollars from a stripper and then sought to cover up the theft.

Col. John J. Whiting’s decision means he will face trial next month for one count of larceny over $500 and two counts of criminal solicitation to obstruct justice. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors had offered Whiting a five-year suspended sentence with probation in exchange for him pleading no contest, said Amy Kempe, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin.

Under questioning from a judge, Whiting said he “absolutely’’ wanted to turn down the offer.

Defense attorney John B. Harwood said the decision was “somewhat easy’’ to make.

“I think the factual history of this case certainly in my opinion would lead someone to believe that the government has a story that’s different than ours,’’ Harwood said. “Basically the facts as we know them would lead one to believe that this man’s innocent of the allegations.’’

Whiting, 58, of North Attleboro, Mass., is accused of stealing $714 from a pocketbook he found after chasing an SUV on Aug. 28 during Tropical Storm Irene. Authorities say Whiting began chasing the Ford Explorer after someone inside threw a bottle at his vehicle. The chase ended when the SUV crashed into a parked car in Pawtucket and the occupants ran away, police records show.

Prosecutors allege Whiting took the money from a Coach pocketbook that he found in a yard near the crash site. He later gave the money to Pawtucket police Officer John Brown, who was called to the scene to investigate a report of Whiting being involved in a foot chase, a police report said.

Whiting told Brown he’d “never stolen anything in my life,’’ a police report said. He also told Brown to spend the money in Las Vegas and not say anything, the report said.