Missing booster funds yield theft charges for woman, 44

A 44-year-old Greencastle woman, in charge of depositing the money raised by pop, candy and popcorn sales at Greencastle High School games, is facing a felony theft charge for allegedly stealing the funds instead.

Jean A. Haynes could face from six months to three years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine if convicted in a case that alleges she stole approximately $7,000 from the Greencastle High School All-Sports Booster Club over a four-month period last winter.

Haynes was arrested at 4:45 p.m. Thursday on a Putnam County warrant for theft. She was taken into custody at her Castlebury Apartments residence and lodged in the local jail by Greencastle City Police Officer Ed Wilson.

During an initial court appearance Friday before Putnam Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley, Haynes routinely had a not-guilty plea entered on her behalf.

The judge set a pretrial conference in the case for 10:30 a.m. Dec. 5.

Haynes, Putnam County Prosecutor Timothy Bookwalter said, "was in charge of the Greencastle High School Booster Club food booth at games. It is alleged that she stole $7,000."

That theft reportedly occurred over the period Dec. 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013.

Haynes, who was in charge of making bank deposits for the GHS Booster Club, was hired by the organization in November 2012 to manage the club's concession stand at the high school, court records show.

As part of her job description, it was noted, she was to handle "start-up monies and to deposit funds as soon as possible after the events."

In December 2012, those deposits became "sporadic and then non-existent," records show.

That issue was addressed with Haynes verbally and via email after school employees began pressuring her about where and why the money had not been deposited, court records stated.

School officials estimated that over a three-month period the booster club money was short between $5,000 and $8,000.

Haynes then claimed she had "misplaced all of the booster club money during a move to a different address," the probable cause affidavit filed in the case stated.

When she said she reportedly discovered the missing funds at her father's home, Haynes was directed to bring the money and the missing cash sheets to the school.

On March 7, Haynes reportedly brought an empty cash box back to school, making a statement that she was planning on paying the money back when she got her tax refund.

"To this date," Det. Randy Seipel stated in the court document, "she has never turned in any cash, and at one point claimed it had been stolen from her car while at work at Putnam County Hospital."

The defendant later retracted that statement.

She did turn in some cash sheets, however, those were "doctored and otherwise incorrect," officials noted.

Providing misinformation on those sheets about when the concession stand was open was meant to cover up "that she was keeping funds for herself," Det. Seipel added.

With a lack of recordkeeping preventing an exact number from being determined, $7,000 was listed as the approximate amount of missing cash. That figure was arrived at by comparing the concession stand totals from previous years.