Charges have been dismissed against a former Starkville woman who spent nearly two years in jail awaiting trial.
Tamara Christy was indicted in 2005 on three charges of fraud related to allegations she failed to deliver items owed by the failed furniture company she inherited when her father passed away.
She was arrested in August 2008 in Nevada for an outstanding warrant issued in Mississippi, but her financial condition was such that she couldn”t afford to bond herself out of the Oktibbeha County Jail until the bond was lowered in May 2010.
On May 2, during the recent Oktibbeha Circuit Court session, Judge Lee Howard dismissed the charges against Christy after her lawyer, Jim Waide, filed a motion to dismiss based on the state”s failure to charge Christy with any criminal offense.
Christy was accused by three individuals in separate cases claiming she failed to fulfill promises to mail furniture items or mailed the wrong furniture items across state and county lines.
In his motion to dismiss, Waide claimed the indictment “fails to contain a ”plain, concise and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged,” and fails to fully notify Defendant of the nature of the charge.” Furthermore, “The indictment is in multiple counts, but fails to allege that the transactions involved are connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan.”
Waide acknowledged the customers who brought the charges did lose money in the transactions, but that Christy was not guilty of fraud. Rather, he said, she simply couldn”t afford to pay the company”s expenses.
Christy declined requests to speak to The Dispatch. Waide said she likely took the long way to freedom.
“Ironically, had Ms. Christy pled guilty, she would have probably received less punishment than the two years she spent in jail awaiting trial,” he said.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.