LAKE COUNTY ? A preliminary hearing for former Shannon Ridge Winery bookkeeper Michelle Davis, 24, was rescheduled for May 19 during a Friday court appearance, more than a year after Davis turned herself in on a felony embezzlement charge.
Davis faces a felony charge of embezzlement by an employee, a form of grand theft. The charge carries a special allegation that Davis embezzled more than $150,000, according to Lake County Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson, who is prosecuting the case.
“She (Davis) denies both of those accusations. She did not do either of those things,” Davis” Sebastopol defense attorney Kristine Burk said.
Abelson said it has taken more than a year to get the preliminary hearing scheduled because it is expected to continue for up to two days, and must compete with lengthy jury trials for courtroom space.
“It”s a complex financial case and we had to go over a lot of records, and in an embezzlement case, it”s not unusual,” Abelson said.
Burk said the hearing was continued because she hadn”t yet received documentation she requested from Davis” former employer.
Abelson will face the burden of proving there is reasonable cause to believe Davis committed the alleged embezzlement, and a determination will be made about whether to hold her to answer on the charge against her.
Abelson said “hundreds” of pages of documentation were initially submitted to the court and more evidence has accumulated since then. Davis allegedly used a company credit card for her own purposes and paid herself extra salary between March 14, 2006 and December 14, 2007, according to Abelson.
Burk said Davis was hired when she was 18 as an office helper, and quit in December 2007. Burk declined comment on the reason for Davis” departure, because she said the matter was in dispute. Davis turned herself in on the embezzlement charge on Jan. 2, 2008. She posted $20,000 bail and was released.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
