Melissa A. Allen
Leonardtown, MD— On Oct. 2, Melissa A. Allen, 29, of Mechanicsville was sentenced by Judge David Densford to 18 months in the St. Mary’s County Detention Center and 5 years unsupervised probation for a theft charge of $100 to under $1,000.00.
According to court documents “Cpl. Johnson of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to Fast Stop Tag and Title, a local business located in Leonardtown for the report of a theft. Johnson made contact with business owner Maralyn Mae Crouse. The investigation revealed between Nov. 2012 until Sept. 2014 a former employee [Melissa A. Allen] stole $25,414.14.”
“Wow. The word that comes to mind is chutzpah. You steal from somebody and complain when they call you a thief. It is not to ruin your life, it is to protect folks. The same reason I am going to put you in jail,” said Densford.
Allen worked for Crouse from June.11, 2009 to Oct. 31, 2014. According to court documents “during her employment, the defendant was responsible for handling customer requests and handling all transactions involving cash, credit, debit and check.”
“I am happy I was able to recover my money. I am also happy that a consequence was given for Ms. Allen’s actions,” said Crouse.
James Farmer, the defendant’s attorney, made a request for reconsideration to have Densford consider home detention at a later period.
“Where do you put a thief? Where do you develop character? Where do you go to get the character and the backbone? I guarantee you this is not the person her parents raised to not steal from people and leave that job and pay $800 and no conviction, and then steal $25,414– there is no place to go, other than jail,” said Densford.
Contact Charles Seifert at c.seifert@thebaynet.com