Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Repayment Ordered For Stolen County Funds

By JOHN MILLER

A former Nevada County Sheriff's Office employee entered a plea of guilty to theft of property in circuit court Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Jimmie Dee Cornelius, 42, of Prescott, had been accused of taking $26,237.19 from NCSO accounts from 1993-1995. She pled guilty to theft of property, a class B felony, and was sentenced to 10 years probation and will pay restitution in the amount of $200 per month.

According to court records, the missing money turned up when the NCSO was audited. The auditors determined there was $5,432 missing from the 1995 bond account and fine account, with about $19,604 missing from 1994 accounts. Another $207 was missing from 1993 accounts.

The auditors found $709 to be missing from the 1995 not sufficient funds account as well, with $200 missing from the 1994 account and coming up short $25 in a fee account.

This amounted to a total shortage of $26,237.19.

Cornelius signed a statement saying the missing money was her fault because it was her responsibility. She also admitted to taking $1,500 out of an envelope but told auditors at the time she "thought I put it back."

The court records show Cornelius wrote out a report dated Feb. 7, 1995 saying an undetermined amount of money was missing, but didn't turn the report in until May 1, 1995, when she gave it to auditors in an apparent effort to cover the loss.

Records show the losses were from active NCSO accounts.

Cornelius was formally arrested Aug. 22, 1995, when she was charged with theft of property over $2,500. With this charge being a class B felony, she could have been sentenced to 5-15 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections and fined up to $15,000.

However, under the terms of the plea agreement, Cornelius paid $6,000 Tuesday, Oct. 14, and will pay $200 a month in restitution until the $26,000 is paid off. She is also on probation for 10 years.