TEXARKANA, Texas -A woman who embezzled more than $135,000 from a local beauty supply store pleaded guilty Friday and is scheduled for sentencing next month.
Denesha Ann Douglass, 39, appeared for a plea hearing Friday with Texarkana lawyer Derric McFarland before 5th District Judge Bill Miller. Because the agreement between the defense and state includes probation, Miller rescheduled the case for sentencing April 7 and ordered that the probation department complete a presentence investigation prior to the hearing.
Douglass was pocketing several hundred dollars daily while working at State Beauty Supply from June 2017 to June 2018, according to a probable cause affidavit. The store's owner reported her suspicion that Douglass was shorting cash from the daily deposits to the Texarkana Texas Police Department after observing Douglass count cash via video surveillance June 22, 2018.
The owner told investigators that she thought Douglass had "too many piles of cash" and went to verify the count. After discovering an envelope containing $300 in cash which was not included with the rest of the currency from the store's register, the owner said she fired Douglass.
The owner completed an audit and discovered that the amount of cash being deposited into the bank was less than what was shown on the store's daily audit. A detective created a spread sheet using the documents provided by the State Beauty Supply owner that showed that the cash deposited each day into the store's bank account was several hundred dollars lower than what was recorded on the store's daily audits.
"In total, my examination revealed a shortage of $135,695.82 for the months in which Douglass was assistant manager and responsible for preparing and taking bank deposits to the bank," the affidavit states.
When interviewed by police, Douglass allegedly ended the meeting when confronted with the evidence against her.
The presentence investigation report which Miller ordered Friday may include information about Douglass' personal, educational, employment and criminal histories. It may also include recommendations for restitution and special conditions, such as a financial skills class.
Miller may or may not accept the plea arrangement. Douglass faces two to 10 years in prison or up to 10 years on probation.
She is currently free on a $100,000 bond.