Woman charged with PTA theft
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 05:13 AM
Updated On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 10:35 AM
By Rebecca LaFlure
Killeen Daily HeraldA local woman is accused of stealing nearly $15,000 from the Saegert Elementary Parent-Teacher Association to pay her mortgage.
Patricia Renee Davila, 39, the organization's former president, posted $25,000 bail Thursday morning after her arrest Wednesday, Killeen police said.
Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin arraigned Davila Thursday on a charge of theft of more than $1,500 but less than $20,000, according to a news release.
The PTA conducted an impromptu audit of its account in August and found $14,935 missing.
Saegert PTA treasurer Maureen Montez contacted Killeen police on Aug. 27 and reported that Davila had transferred money from the PTA bank account to her personal account, according to the arrest affidavit.
After a police investigation, police determined that Davila, who served as the school's PTA president in 2008, was solely responsible for the missing money. The first theft occurred on June 1, 2008, and continued through Aug. 6 when Davila emptied the account.
Davila told police she took the money to pay her mortgage, the news release stated.
Phone calls to the Saegert PTA officers were not returned Thursday.
Leslie Gilmore, spokeswoman for the Killeen Independent School District, said the PTA is an organization separate from KISD and is monitored by the state PTA.
The arrest occurred less than a month after Patsy Ann Dunem was charged with stealing more than $9,000 from the Robert M. Shoemaker Athletic Booster Club.
Dunem, who served as the club's treasurer, told police she took the money between July 2007 and January 2009 when she failed to meet her house and car payments.
In December, former Trimmier Elementary PTA president Melisa Pearl Worth was arraigned on a charge of theft of more than $1,500 but less than $20,000 after an audit showed about $6,000 was stolen from the PTA account.
Contact Rebecca LaFlure at
rlaflure@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7548.