Judge revokes bond of embezzlement suspect

Woman also accused of theft, drug possession

A woman accused of embezzling more than $74,000 from a Texarkana business was taken into custody at the end of a hearing Wednesday in a Bowie County, Texas, courtroom.

Latisha Nicole Jenkins McMurry, 33, appeared Wednesday afternoon with Texarkana lawyer Michael Friedman for arraignment before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart on a felony theft charge. Friedman entered a plea of not guilty to the charge on McMurry’s behalf.

At the end of the hearing, Lockhart told McMurry he is revoking the $20,000 personal recognizance bond set for her after her arrest because she has since been arrested on two additional charges—theft under $2,500 with priors in Bowie County and for drug possession in Miller County, Ark.

“I am not guilty of that theft your honor,” McMurry said. “There’s video of that.”

Friedman said he was hired the day of the arraignment hearing and unfamiliar with the particulars of McMurry’s current legal issues. Now that

Lockhart has revoked McMurry’s bond, she could remain behind bars while her case proceeds.

McMurry allegedly altered bank records to make it appear $74,198.10 in debit card charges to Texarkana Parts and Logistics made between July 2014 and February 2016 were for legitimate business expenses, according to a probable-cause affidavit used to create the following account.

The owner of Texarkana Parts and Logistics reported that he discovered a shortage in the company’s Bancorp South account and asked McMurry, whose duties included purchasing, accounting, office management and access to the company debit card, for copies of bank statements, which she provided.

The statements McMurry provided to her boss and statements acquired directly from the bank allegedly differed significantly. The statements which came directly from the bank reportedly showed numerous and repeated charges to Capital One, Nissan finance, Verizon, AT&T, Barclays, Richardson Waste, Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative and Dish Network which did not benefit Texarkana Parts and Logistics in any way. The business owner told detectives McMurry was never given permission to use the company debit card for her personal use.

McMurry allegedly admitted to the embezzlement during an interview with Texarkana, Texas, detectives on March 23, 2016. The offense is punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said the newer theft charge which partly led to Lockhart’s decision to return McMurry to jail is a felony punishable by six months to two years in a state jail. According to a probable cause affidavit on file in McMurry’s drug case in Miller County, McMurry was stopped by sheriff’s deputies on Interstate 49 because the registration on a 2015 Honda Accord she was driving was expired.

McMurry allegedly admitted she was driving on a suspended license after giving the deputy her Arkansas identification card. McMurry’s daughter, whose age is not identified in the affidavit, was released at the scene to a family member. When deputies inventoried McMurry’s car they found a brown purse with a syringe inside which contained an unknown residue. A purple Crown Royal whiskey bag discovered on the car’s floor board allegedly contained five more syringes, digital scales, five-and-ahalf unknown pills and a pink container which held several bags of suspected methamphetamine.

McMurry has been charged in Miller County with possession of methamphetamine under two grams. The offense is punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Cotten is handling prosecution of McMurry in Arkansas.

Lockhart scheduled McMurry to return to his court for a pretrial hearing in the embezzlement case next month.

llarowe@texarkanagazette.com