By Patrick Roberts
MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 News) – An employee in the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office was arrested Friday for allegedly stealing proceeds from fines and other fees from the parish tax office.
LaKeisha Ford-Norris, 34, is charged with 13 counts each of felony theft, malfeasance in office, and filing false public records. It's alleged that she stole as much as $75,000 over 18 months.
"The public doesn't tolerate stealing, and neither do we," Sheriff Royce Toney said. "We do police our own."
An arrest warrant explains that Ford-Norris worked in the tax office, responsible for collecting criminal fines, witness fees, and court cost payments.
It's alleged that when defendants made payments, Ford-Norris collected cash or checks but then changed computer records to indicate a smaller payment, or no payment, had been required because of credit for time served or good time.
In one case, she then allegedly deposited a check for $1,000 into the cash register and removed cash that she then kept. By doing so, the total amount of cash and checks in the cash register would have balanced with what the computer system indicated should have been there.
A captain became suspicious after he noticed a printed receipt from a defendant didn't match the computer records in the tax office. Ford-Norris was the only employee at the time who was both trained and assigned to perform those duties.
The arrest warrant also says Ford-Norris made deposits into her bank account of as much as $75,000 that ended after she was transferred to another position.
Toney stressed that no parish tax money was involved.
Ford-Norris was described as a "nine-year veteran" according to a press release by the Sheriff's Office.
She was booked into OCC on $78,000 bond.
Lakeisha Ford-Norris
