Guilty.
Posted on 05/07/2010 10:29:31 AM PDT by Colofornian
PROVO A former Mapleton City financial recorder was sentenced to jail Thursday for taking city gift cards and postage stamps and selling them on eBay.
Judge James Taylor suspended a one- to 15-year prison sentence for Jeannie Kay Bell's second-degree felony theft conviction and sentenced her to 90 days in jail. In a rare move, Taylor gave Bell credit for 35 days spent in jail, including 33 days spent in the Clark County Jail after she fled the state and traveled to Las Vegas.
Taylor also allowed Bell to spend the remaining jail time on GPS monitoring and gave her 30 days to report to jail. She will be required to complete a mental health evaluation and any recommended treatment. During her 36 months on probation, Bell will not be allowed to have access to any funds in any job she takes.
Bell was in a position of importance and esteem, Taylor said. The public put their trust in her to deal with money provided to the government by citizens.
"It's a real concern," he said. "I mean, you violated public trust."
Bell will be required to pay $32,900 in restitution to the city. Her attorney, Doug Baxter, said Bell would sign over the $25,000 bail she posted in the case to be given to the city immediately.
Baxter asked the judge for no further jail time, saying the time his client spent in the Clark County Jail was a "huge wake-up call." He said Bell feels as though she has let down a family member in taking money from the city.
"They have been very good to her throughout this," he said.
Prosecutor Craig Johnson said city officials feel it is important to get the money back in the case during a difficult economy. As such, they requested that Bell not serve any more time in jail.
"They wanted to make sure that was emphasized," he said.
However, Johnson said while he represents the victims, he also wants to make sure the public interest is served. He said in some ways, resolving this case was like "pulling teeth," and it took a long time to get to this point.
"The state, despite the victim's wishes, would ask for 120 days, to be served forthwith," he said.
Baxter said his client made a mistake and wants to make amends and move on. He said the judge gave a fair sentence and made some big concessions to satisfy justice and the victim's wishes.
"I thought the judge did a very good job of balancing both," he said.
This ex-financial recorder fled the state and gets "rewarded" by a judge...first she was given this extremely wide latitude of 1 to 15 years in jail...and then the judge promptly reduces it to 90 days...for stealing almost $33,000.
Guilty.
So where did that $25000 bail money come from ???
(Uh...it was a "loan"...uh...from the city of Mapleton)
Bell will be required to pay $32,900 in restitution to the city. Her attorney, Doug Baxter, said Bell would sign over the $25,000 bail she posted in the case to be given to the city immediately.
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She was able to use that “loan” to pay restitution...
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