LAUREL —
Former Laurel Leader-Call business manager Stephanie Thornton has been sentenced on embezzlement charges stemming from her tenure at the newspaper.
Thornton was sentenced to 10 years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections Tuesday in Jones County Circuit Court for embezzling over $36,000 from the Laurel Leader-Call. Those 10 years include five years to serve full-time with MDOC and another five years of post-release supervision.
According to court documents, Thornton was indicted on Nov. 2, 2009, for embezzling the money between December 2007 and August 2009. She will have to pay back $42,710.82 to the Laurel Leader-Call, Great American Insurance and related court costs.
Jones County District Attorney Tony Buckley said some inconsistencies in an account belonging to Howard Johnson Properties was brought to the attention of LL-C publisher Skippy Haik. Haik then asked for an internal audit, which discovered more than $36,000 missing from a number of accounts.
Buckley noted that Thornton was later arrested by officer Kevin Flynn of the Laurel Police Department, and confessed the crime.
“She admitted to embezzling over $4,000 to $5,000, not the $36,000,” he said. “But, under the law, we only have to prove $500.”
In a separate matter, Tony Quince, 41, of Laurel, was placed on pre-trial diversion on an embezzlement charge.
Quince was arrested in April 2009 and charged with three counts of embezzlement. According to court documents, Quince was employed by Kentucky Fried Chicken in Laurel at the time that money was found missing from store bank deposits.
Quince was apprehended in Wayne County and transported back to Laurel.
Others appearing before the court included Jeremy A. James, 18, who was arrested last July after a string of burglaries near his home at 74 Woodson Drive.
At the time of James’ arrest, the Jones County Sheriff’s Department reported he had broken into two residences in the 60 block of Woodson Drive and vandalized the interior of one of the properties.
James was charged with two counts of burglary of a dwelling and one count of burglary of a non-dwelling. In each count, he was charged with six years of full-time custody and one year of post-release supervision to run concurrently.
Elizabeth Myrick, 39, last known address of 172 Houston Road, also entered a guilty plea in Jones County Circuit Court Tuesday.
Myrick, along with her husband Shan Myrick, was arrested in October 2009 and charged with three counts of uttering a forgery after writing checks and using the debit card of a 77-year-old woman who had hired Myrick as a caretaker.
According to information from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department, Myrick charged approximately $700 at Gulf Coast casinos with other transactions at local retail stores in Jones County.
Myrick received time served.
Also entering a guilty plea Tuesday was a Laurel man who fled from Laurel Municipal Court in October 2009, where he was appearing on other charges.
Alfonzo Moffett, of 1207 North Fourth Avenue, pled guilty of kidnapping, robbery, auto theft and felony escape. He is scheduled to serve two eight year sentences in the Mississippi Department of Corrections with five years of post release supervision to run concurrently.
According to court documents, Moffett placed Marcus Milsap, a firefighter with the Laurel Fire Department, in the trunk of a car and stole money from him along with a 2002 Toyota Camry.
Bench warrants were also issued Tuesday for Keith Patrick Burge, grand larceny, and Michael C. Musgrove, felony DUI. Burge and Musgrove were scheduled to enter guilty pleas, but did not appear before the court.
Local News
Related Photos
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Stephanie Thornton, middle, appears with her attorney John Piazza in Jones County Circuit Court Tuesday. Thornton pled guilty to embezzling over $36,000 from the Laurel Leader-Call during the time she worked for the newspaper as business manager. She received 10 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections, five to serve full-time and five years of post-release supervision. Photo/David Owens
Ex-LLC business manager sentenced to 10 years
Thornton embezzled over $36K from newspaper
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