A former police officer, Debbie McDonald, 53 at the time of her arrest, Linton, appeared in Greene Superior Court on Wednesday for her sentencing hearing in a theft case.

For background information on this case, previous posts are included below, or click the tag “Debbie McDonald” at the bottom of this page.

In a negotiated plea agreement filed with the court on October 12, McDonald agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of theft as a Class A misdemeanor and a sentencing hearing was to be scheduled on a later date.

The plea of guilty was accepted by the court and a judgment of conviction was entered into the court records. All parties agreed that McDonald would pay restitution to the clerk before the sentencing hearing.

Her sentencing hearing was conducted on Wednesday.

McDonald was sentenced to one year in the county jail but she was given credit for one day already served and with good time credit, that left 363 days. All 363 days were suspended.

Posted on GreeneStreets on Friday, December 17, 2021:

CASE UPDATE: Former police officer arrested yesterday after warrant issued

Early Thursday morning, December 16, after charges were approved by the court, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Debbie Jo McDonald, 53, Linton. McDonald turned herself in at the sheriff’s department and was booked into the Greene County Jail at 2:24 p.m. Her bond was set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. She posted $400 and was released from custody. She is expected to appear in Greene Superior Court on January 3 for her initial hearing on a charge of theft, a Level 6 felony. For more information on this case, see previous story included below.

Story posted on GreeneStreets on Wednesday, December 15, 2021:

Special prosecutor files criminal case against former police officer

Based on information gathered in an investigation by an ISP detective into the misuse of funds belonging to the local F.O.P. Lodge, a special prosecutor filed a criminal case late today against a former police officer who had served as the organization’s treasurer.

A criminal case was filed today, Wednesday, December 15, against Debbie McDonald, 53, Linton, on a charge of theft – where the value of the property is between $750 and $50,000. It’s a Level 6 felony.

McDonald has been under investigation by Detective Toni R. Walden of the Indiana State Police since mid-August when officials from the Linton F.O.P. Lodge #105 requested an investigation into unauthorized purchases and withdrawals from the F.O.P.’s checking and savings accounts that they believed occurred over the course of several years.

McDonald, a former police officer who served with the Linton Police Department, served as treasurer of the local F.O.P. and had possession of the only debit card associated with the organization’s checking account. She also had access to online banking for the checking and savings accounts. In addition, the bank statements for these accounts were addressed to the attention of McDonald, including her personal home address.

According to Det. Walden, the cash withdrawals from the F.O.P. checking account, most labeled as “Withdrawal at ATM #...” totaled approximately $4,572 from January of 2017 until August 11, 2021. F.O.P. officials said these withdrawals were not authorized.

Det. Walden reported the debit card associated with the F.O.P. checking account was also used for numerous transactions at the Walmart store in Linton with many of the transactions having a “Cash Back” amount associated with the purchases made. “Cash Back is an option when using a debit card for Walmart purchases where an amount can be added to the purchases and that amount of cash is given as change from the register.

The purchases made at the Walmart store using the debit card from January 2017 until August 2021 allegedly was for various items that included, but were not limited to, women’s clothing, household items, children’s food, diapers, clothes and toys, hygiene products, hair coloring, make-up, Marlboro cigarettes, batteries, home improvement items, gardening items and groceries.

The “Cash Back” cash added to those purchases between January 2017 and August 2021 allegedly totaled $2,260.

The approximate total of unauthorized purchases at the Walmart store allegedly totaled $11,216.67.

In addition to the above ATM withdrawals, Walmart purchases and “Cash Back” options, Det. Walden reported the debit card was used for four unauthorized purchases at Kohl’s and six unauthorized purchases at Amazon.com, all between January 2017 and August 2021. The debit card was also used in Panama City Beach, Florida, for unauthorized transactions.

Information from Det. Walden’s investigation was submitted to Special Prosecutor Stanley Levco to make the charging decision and on Wednesday, December 15, the criminal case was filed against McDonald in Greene Superior Court.

The case was filed late in the day and as of 4 p.m. when offices in the courthouse closed, the information on the charge had not yet been reviewed by a judge. Upon the review, if the court finds probable cause that the crime of theft as a Level 6 felony was committed, it’s expected that a warrant will be issued for the arrest of McDonald.

Editor’s Note: Early in October, the F.O.P. filed a civil suit against McDonald alleging over $28,000 in funds had been “misappropriated” during the time McDonald served as the organization’s treasurer. Regarding the discrepancy between that amount and the total amounts described in the affidavit in the criminal case, an F.O.P. representative noted the fact that the affidavit doesn’t necessarily document all of the unlawful transactions but just includes sufficient information to establish the alleged offense did occur.

McDonald had been actively serving as an LPD officer when the ISP investigation began in August. At that time, LPD Chief Paul Clark confirmed that McDonald was placed on administrative leave with pay, in keeping with the law and standard policies regarding these matters.

Then in mid-November, Chief Clark confirmed that McDonald had stepped down from her position and submitted her resignation on November 15, effective immediately.

To find other previous stories posted on GreeneStreets about this case, click on the Tag “Debbie McDonald” below this story.