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Former Garrard circuit clerk indicted for misconduct

March 22, 2009|TODD KLEFFMAN

LANCASTER - A Garrard County grand jury has indicted former Circuit Clerk Jennifer Grubbs with seven counts of first-degree official misconduct for allegedly using office money for her own benefit and attempting to shield others from court action.

The charges are all Class A misdemeanors that carry a maximum penalty of a year in jail.

The indictment was handed up Friday after special prosecutor David Smith's second appearance before the grand jury. Smith, Commonwealth's Attorney for Madison County, presented part of the evidence during a grand jury session last month.

Grubbs and four current or former deputy clerks, including Dana Hensley, who was named to replace Grubbs, testified before the grand jury.

Grubbs was suspended from her job in December after the state Administrative Office of the Courts announced it was investigating her office. She retired Dec. 31.

The indictment alleges that Grubbs did the following:

*Wrote a $400 cold check on her personal account and cashed it at the clerk's office on Sept. 22. The check was not paid until Dec. 31.

*Took $70 in cash from the office in exchange for two I.O.U.s in early December. The I.O.U.s were repaid on Dec. 31

*Wrote a $115 check on her account and cashed it at the office on Dec. 4, instructing office bookkeeper Bridget Sebastian to hold the daily deposit until the check was reimbursed. The cash was reimbursed on Dec. 9

*Wrote a $400 check and cashed it at the office on Dec. 8, telling Sebastian to hold the deposit. The cash was repaid on Dec. 10.

*Wrote a $350 check and cashed it at the office on Dec. 15, telling Sebastian to hold the deposit. The cash was paid back on Dec. 31.

*Failed to file a civil claim from Fort Logan Hospital against Nancy Moberly, one of her deputies, from May 24 to Nov. 10.

*Keeping case files on her daughter, Brandi Poynter, hidden in her private office. Poynter pleaded guilty to cold check charges in 2006 and owed court costs, fees and restitution of $138. The costs were paid on Dec. 29. Poynter also owed costs on a 2007 case that were not paid until Jan. 14. The files were found in Grubbs office on Dec. 16.

Sebastian testified before the grand jury but declined to comment about the case Friday. Moberly and former clerk Jennie Whitaker also testified, along with AOC investigator Steve Hall.

Smith, who was brought in from outside the county to avoid potential conflicts of interest, will continue to prosecute the case in Garrard District Court. Grubbs' arraignment date has not yet been set.

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