Former LeCroy employee pleads guilty to two charges involving theft
Published 4:47 pm Monday, July 28, 2014
A former LeCroy Career Technical Center employee pleaded guilty on Monday to two charges involving theft.
Temika Varner Winters, 38, of Clanton, appeared in court Monday morning in front of Chilton County Circuit Judge Ben A. Fuller.
Winters, the former bookkeeper at the LeCroy Career Technical Center, entered a guilty plea to one count of theft of property first degree and one count of ethics violations.
Prosecutors agreed to dismiss 16 counts of possession of a forged instrument second degree.
Fuller asked Winters what caused her to be guilty of the charge of one count of theft of property first degree.
“I used money from a public school for personal gain,” Winters said.
Fuller followed up with a second question asking Winters what caused her to be guilty of the charge of one count of ethics violations.
Winters said she used her position for personal gain.
Winters was arrested Nov. 26, 2013, after the 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office conducted an investigation of suspected theft at the request of the Clanton Police Department due to a conflict of interest.
At the time of her arrest, prosecutors said Winters’ husband was an officer with the Clanton Police Department so the district attorney’s office brought in a special investigator to look into the case.
The investigation started after an employee at LeCroy noticed some unusual accounting practices.
Winters stole nearly $50,000 from the school over an 18-month period.
Winters worked for the Chilton County Board of Education for 15 years.
At the time of her arrest, prosecutors said in this particular case, forged instruments referred to checks.
Winters was taken to the Chilton County Jail on Nov. 26 with a $100,000 bond.
She was later released from jail on bond and was indicted Feb. 14 by a grand jury.
Winters’ sentencing date will be Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. at the Chilton County Courthouse.