By Cain Madden

The Natchez Democrat

RIDGECREST — The former Ridgecrest village clerk who pleaded guilty to stealing $22,484 from the municipality has begun to serve a five-year sentence after failure to pay restitution.

Shannon Sullivan Beatty, 43, 811 U.S. 61, Natchez, was sentenced to Louisiana Department of Corrections probation on Nov. 26, 2014, with a five-year plan for repaying the stolen funds in monthly installments of $375.

However, Seventh Judicial District District Attorney Brad Burget said she never even showed up to his office to set up the restitution payments, which were supposed to start in January of 2015.

Judge John Reeves revoked her probation on April 13 for not abiding by the court’s orders. Beatty will serve her formerly suspended five-year sentence.

Beatty was arrested initially on May 22, 2014, following the matter being brought to the legislative auditor’s office in December 2013.

The audit findings indicated that from January to August, $121,957 in utility payments were collected, but only $99,473 of those payments were deposited in the village’s bank account.

The audit claimed Beatty destroyed original deposit slips prepared by a part-time worker and replaced them with ones she had prepared in order to conceal the misappropriated funds. Town records indicate 26 deposits did not match the daily collection totals during the eight-month period.

Ridgecrest aldermen fired Beatty in August 2013 after she failed to show up for work.

She pleaded guilty in November 2014 to felony theft, filing false reports, malfeasance in office and false accounting.

The town clerk who preceded Beatty, Dana Delaughter, and the former mayor, Kevin Graham, pleaded guilty to charges of malfeasance in 2013.

Delaughter had been accused of failing to deposit utility payments, intentionally overstating collections and issuing herself extra payroll checks. Delaughter was ordered to pay $58,544 in restitution.

Graham faced charges he used state grant funds for personal use and was sentenced to five years supervised probation.