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December 19, 2006

Grant County official facing forgery counts, embezzlement charges

By Meredith Truhlar Medford correspondent

A Grant County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher, who also is a county reserve officer, was charged Tuesday with forgery and embezzlement.

Leisa Ann Brittain, 28, of Medford, was charged in Grant County District Court with two felony counts of forgery and four misdemeanor counts of embezzlement. She is accused of forging Sheriff Roland Hula’s name on two checks and writing four other checks and using the money for her personal use.

According to court records, Grant County reserve officer Capt. Alan Juhl found discrepancies in the bookkeeping of Brittain, who also is treasurer of the reserve officer organization. The problems involved statements from Bank 7 in Medford, according to the affidavit, and Juhl notified Hula of the discrepancies.

Three checks were written on the reserve checking account that Hula had not signed and did not authorize anyone to use his name, according to the affidavit. The checks were for $237.84, dated July 18; $300, dated April 6; and $63.94, dated June 20.

According to the affidavit, Brittain admitted signing her name and Hula’s name on the two larger checks and cashing them. They were written for a money order to purchase a $36.42 metal clipboard and an equipment bag. Brittain also admitted signing the third check but said she did not keep any of the money, according to the affidavit.

Four other checks, for $325, $250, $323.66 and $335.23, were made out for cash and signed only by Brittain, according to the affidavit. Brittain said she did not know if she used any of the money from two of the checks for her personal use, according to the affidavit, but said she used the money from the other two for her personal use.

The felony charges are punishable by up to seven years in prison. The misdemeanor charges are punishable by up to a year in the county jail, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.

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