Thursday, April 24, 1997
Judge lowers woman's bond
A judge Wednesday lowered bond for a woman accused of stealing
$48,400 from Abilene's Aldersgate United Methodist Church.
Barbara Kemper, 41, is scheduled to go to trial in June on
felony theft charges and faces up to 10 years in prison. She's
been in Taylor County Jail since her arrest in Austin in January.
She worked as a secretary at Aldersgate last year and is accused
of stealing the money over a span of time from April to late September,
the indictment reads.
On Wednesday, Kemper asked state District Judge Jess Holloway
to reduce her $50,000 bond.
She admitted she is currently serving 10 years probation for
a 1993 forgery conviction out of Potter County. She said she stole
$36,000 from her employer, a property investor, and has paid $13,000
of the penalty and restitution, still owing about $25,000.
Aldersgate officials did not know the woman was on probation
when they hired her, Assistant District Attorney Curtis Tomme
said. Potter County has filed a motion to revoke the probation,
he said.
Kemper told Tomme she did not use the stolen Aldersgate money
to help pay off the Potter County debt.
Defense attorney Rick Mabry said her $50,000 bond for the Abilene
offense is excessive. He argued a lower bond would allow Kemper
to get out of jail, work and establish a track record of making
steady restitution payments.
He also said the Potter County situation should have no bearing
on how large a bond to set in the Abilene case.
But Tomme argued she clearly has a track record of stealing
from employers.
"Basically, as best as I can tell, she's just a thief,"
Tomme said. "If she gets out, she's done it twice, she'll
do it again."
But Holloway said she has not been convicted of the Abilene
theft yet and lowered her bond to $15,000. She remained in jail
Wednesday evening.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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