Missing Museum Money Trial Ends with Probation Plea Bargain for One, & Charges Dropped against the Other
November 20th, 2017 by iPhone
The Drew County Museum case of theft of property in the approximate amount of $182,000 came to an end Friday around noon.
Terri Wolfe (age 55) and Beth Thurman (age 66), both of Monticello, were charged with theft of property in the Drew County Circuit Court.
Thurman and Wolfe were the “unnamed persons” in the investigation performed by the Arkansas Department of Legislative Audit, searching for $182,000 in missing museum funds, for expenditures that were discovered around December 2016.
The ongoing series of thefts occurred between 2011 and 2015.
Judge Sam Pope accepted an arranged plea bargain from Terri Wolf on the theft of property charge, and sentenced her to years probation and to pay restitution of $156,306 to the museum. Thanks
During the same hearing, all charges against Beth Thurman, Wolfe’s cousin were dropped.
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Posted November 9, 2017- – Missing Museum Money Trial ($182,000) Set for This Month
The case of the Museum’s Missing Money is set for week of November 28 in Drew County Circuit Court.
The case appeared briefly before Judge Sam Pope, Monday.
It is currently scheduled for both defendants, who are cousins, are to be represented by separate lawyers, both from the same law firm, in a joint trial, even though the cases have been legally severed, at the same time.
Any updates, as well as coverage of the trial itself, will be posted of MonticelloLive.com.
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Posted September 14, 2017
Although this case was not scheduled for Monday’s court docket with Judge Pope, MLive has the following information about its trial date.
The next court hearing will be on November 6, and will be the final hearing before the jury trial takes place.
Jury trial is scheduled to take place on November 28-30.
An unusual note in this case, although the 2 defendants have severed their cases, they will still share the same attorney, Hani Hashem.
Any updates will be posted as they become available, pertaining to the case, schedule, or trial.
——–Posted May 11, 2017
At the end of December, Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen filed official charges against 2 former members of the Drew County Museum Board.
Terri Wolfe (age 55) and Beth Thurman (age 66), both of Monticello, were charged with theft of property in the Drew County Circuit Court.
Thurman and Wolfe were the “unnamed persons” in the investigation performed by the Arkansas Department of Legislative Audit, searching for $182,000 in missing museum funds.
On Monday, Thurman and Wolfe appeared before Circuit Judge Sam Pope, represented by Hani Hashem.
It was brought to the courts attention that although both have been charged in the case, neither have actually been “arrested”.
They requested their cases be severed (tried separately), even though both women requested to keep Hashem as their individual attorneys.
Usually when cases are severed, each defendant will have separate attorneys, but both of the cousins agreed to sign waivers to keep Hashem’s firm as their representative.
No other action was taken in the case, where the prosecution said that they have not made any plea offers to either party, but may consider doing so in the future.
The next court date is set for June 19.
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February 14, 2017
Both Thurman and Wolfe appeared before Circuit Judge Sam Pope in Drew County Court Monday morning.
Hani Hashem represented both defendants, who remained silent during the hearing.
They waived their arraignments and first appearance “reading of their rights.”
Since they were “summoned to court”, and not arrested, they have not been required to be fingerprinted or have mugshots taken.
Their next court appearances will be March 27 and May 8. No trial date has been set at this time.
Hashem told the court that he expects to use a CPA as an expert witness, and may need extra time to schedule her, due to tax season. Judge Pope responded, that based on the timeframe, tax season should be over before it would be a scheduling conflict .
Here are the results of that audit.
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Newer article: Local Murder Leads to Pulaski County Arrest
Older article: Statement of Terri Wolfe to Court on Museum Theft
The favoritism of the courts because of the name if the same thing was done but by someone else it will be jail time. Some people can get away with anything. How do u get charges dropped on such case and one get probation the system is rigged to favor those of a name in the community.