Former Newton County Assessor, Sheila McCutcheon, went on trial Tuesday, according to the Harrison Daily Times, but entered into a plea agreement in the middle of the trial that she would never run for office again. As part of the agreement she was placed on five years probation, ordered to pay $200 in court costs and other fees and ordered to pay $10,040 in restitution to the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit.Circuit Judge John Putman said McCutcheon agreed to the plea from a June 2016 case when she and her chief deputy, 35-year-old Desiray McCutcheon, Shelia McCutcheon’s daughter-in-law, were charged with felony theft of property for allegedly charging personal items to two county-issued credit cards.Another part of the plea agreement says charges against her daughter-in-law will be dropped.
According to court records, the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit provided detailed reports regarding purchases by the Assessor’s Office from 2010 to 2015 on credit cards issued to the office. It is estimated that slightly more than $11,500 were involved.
Auditors examined purchases by the office and found that the two women not only made purchases on the cards but also made personal payments on the accounts.
On May 19th, the assessor and chief deputy were interviewed and, according to court records, admitted to using the county-issued cards to purchase personal items.
McCutcheon resigned after the theft charge even though she had already filed for re-election. Because she was unopposed, she was re-elected to the Assessor position in November and resumed office in January. She retained her position until the trial and subsequent plea agreement.
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