The last suspect arrested for embezzlement of Starkville Parks and Recreation funds between 2015 and 2017 has pleaded guilty and been sentenced in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
Marion Watson, 47, of Eupora, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the state on Monday and has been sentenced to a 5-year suspended sentence in the Mississippi Department of Corrections, according to court records. Mississippi 16th Circuit Judge Lee Howard also sentenced her to five years probation, a $500 fine and $5,000 in restitution.
Watson previously worked as a contractor for the parks department and was accused of helping embezzle parks funds between January 2015 and November 2017.
Watson was one of five former parks employees and contractors arrested in the case in 2017 and 2018, including former parks director Herman Peters, who pleaded guilty last week.
Starkville aldermen fired Peters on Jan. 2, 2018, and Starkville police arrested him, Watson, and former parks employees Schronda Eddins, Anthony Stevenson and Diane Evans two days later.
According to court documents, Peters and Evans conspired to pay Watson, Eddins and Stevenson for more hours than they worked.
All the defendants but Eddins were given 5-year suspended sentences and fives years of probation. Evans was sentenced to a $1,000 fine and $40,702 in restitution in January. Stevenson was sentenced to a $1,000 fine and $23,505 in restitution.
Eddins, who was previously convicted for false pretense in Lowndes County, was sentenced to five years in prison, five years of post-release supervision and $15,200 in restitution.
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