LAKE COUNTY — A bookkeeper for Shannon Ridge Winery was arrested on a charge of embezzlement Jan. 2 for allegedly taking more than $150,000 from her employer.
Lower Lake resident Michelle Lynn Davis, 23, turned herself in to the Lake County Sheriff”s Department after her defense attorney made arrangements, according to Sheriff Rodney Mitchell. Superior Court Judge Richard Martin issued the felony warrant Jan. 2. Davis faces an embezzlement charge with a special allegation that the amount was more than $150,000, according to chief deputy district attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Hinchcliff said Davis worked for Shannon Ridge Winery in Clearlake Oaks, but did not say how long she worked there.
“Shannon Winery management reported the embezzlement to our department on December 14, 2007,” Mitchell said in a prepared statement. “Shannon Winery management discovered a number of irregularities in their accounting. Examples include suspicious charges to a company credit card and canceled checks that did not match the checkbook ledger. The suspected embezzlement is believed to have begun about one year ago,” Mitchell wrote.
Davis has not been arraigned, and Hinchcliff said he was not aware of her next court date. Davis” booking information, found at www.lakesheriff.com, says her next court date is March 7. According to California law, a person who is arrested has a right to be arraigned within 48 hours of the arrest. “Once they”re arrested if they have not bailed out they have these rights under (Penal Code section) 825. When they make bail, the bail bondsman arranges with the court a date to order them back.”
“If there are any time issues, they will start to run when she is arraigned,” Hinchcliff said. Davis posted bail on the day of her arrest, according to Lake County Jail booking staff. Bail was set at $20,000. Davis could face a maximum of five years of prison time if she is convicted of the felony charge, Hinchcliff said.
A call placed Monday to Shannon Ridge Winery was not immediately returned.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
