One time county employee enters guilty plea

JACKSBORO, TN. (WLAF)- A former county employee has pleaded guilty to official misconduct.

Yesterday, in criminal court Jodi Owens entered the plea that was tied to actions that occurred when she was employed at the Campbell County Clerk’s office.

Last year, Owens’ crimes came to light following an investigation that was launched by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office when Campbell County Court Clerk Alene Baird alerted authorities to questionable transactions she had found in an internal audit.

As officials delved into what Baird and her deputy clerk Maria Partin had discovered, they learned Owens had “misappropriated at least $702 from the clerk’s office by failing to deposit collections and improperly changing recorded transactions,” the report said. After collecting the money, Owens allegedly changed the date of the transaction so they would not show up on the daily report. The comptroller’s reports revealed that Owens changed one date eight times.

When Baird conducted a “surprise count” of her clerks’ cash drawers she found the $702 shortage in Owens’ drawer, according to the comptroller’s report. When questioned about the shortage, Owens left the office and came back with money to repay the money. She also resigned from her job that day as well. In all, authorities found 148 “questionable changes totaling $3,946” that Owens had allegedly completed.

After pleading guilty, Owens was sentenced to one year of supervised probation along with court costs and a $1,000 fine.

She was also given a year of judicial diversion. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 06/08/2021- 6AM)