Restitution, a suspended jail term and counseling were ordered for a former Kosciusko County deputy clerk who admitted taking money from her employer.

Jalaine Brumfield, 42, of 1403 Alpha Drive, Warsaw, was sentenced Friday in Kosciusko Superior Court I after admitting to a Class D felony charge of theft in August. She was arrested in July after it was learned that money was missing from the clerk's office, where Brumfield served as a deputy clerk, taking in fines for traffic tickets, among other duties. She resigned her position July 13.

The discrepancy in funds was discovered when a woman who paid her traffic ticket with a money order called the clerk's office because her license was suspended for failure to pay the fine. Upon investigating, the ticket folder was found in Brumfield's desk minus the money order. Brumfield was questioned and admitted taking money between April 1997 and July 1998, with amounts ranging from $70 to $1,149 per month, according to a State Board of Accounts audit released Monday.

Brumfield must make restitution of $11,171.97, which includes the $4,000 cost of the audit. She was given a 1-1/2-year suspended jail term and ordered to pay a $30 initial and $10 monthly probation user's fee. She also must seek credit counseling through the Bowen Center - Brumfield told authorities that she began taking money from work when she got behind on her personal bills.

At the time of Brumfield's arrest, officials believed that she had taken at least $2,000, but the exact amount stolen wasn't pinpointed until the state audit. [[In-content Ad]]