Ex-Ignacio employee admits to stealing $66,000 from town
Published 10:53 pm, Thursday, June 30, 2016
DURANGO, Colo. (AP) — A former employee of Ignacio has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $66,000 from the southwestern Colorado town to feed her gambling addiction.
The Durango Herald reports (http://bit.ly/296wu4S ) that Jacquelyn Mejia pleaded guilty to theft charges Thursday.
Court documents say Mejia had worked as an administrator for the town in January when she walked into the Ignacio Police Department and confessed to stealing money from the town's coffers. The documents say she told police she had a gambling addiction and had been taking county money since November.
Mejia faces up to 90 days in jail and 10 years of probation when she's sentenced in September.
Former Ignacio town employee pleads guilty to theft
Jacquelyn Mejia stole more than $66,000 to support gambling addiction
Aformer Ignacio town administrator faces up to 90 days in jail and 10 years on probation after pleading guilty Thursday to embezzling more than $66,000 from town coffers to feed her gambling addiction.
In a plea agreement with the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Jacquelyn Mejia on Thursday pleaded guilty to two counts: felony theft and misdemeanor theft. The felony will be deferred – or wiped from her criminal record – if she successfully completes the terms of her probation.
Formal sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 1 in District Judge Jeffrey Wilson’s courtroom.
Mejia, a front desk worker at Ignacio Town Hall, walked into the Ignacio Police Department on Jan. 19 and voluntarily confessed to stealing money from the town’s deposits since early November.
“I asked her why, and she told me, ‘Because I have a gambling addiction at the (Sky Ute) Casino,’” according to an arrest affidavit filed by Sgt. Wes Crume.
At first, she said she stole about $17,000, but she quickly admitted to stealing much more.
She was arrested two days later.
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