Lea este artículo en español aquí.
On July 10, Erin Baxter, a former supervising librarian at the San Benito County Free Library, pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzling funds from the library.
Attorney Harry Damkar, who represents Baxter, asked Judge Thomas Breen for a 977 waiver, which requests that a defendant not be required to be physically present for certain court proceedings. Deputy District Attorney Toby Hasler did not object and added that the parties were in discussions regarding a settlement.
When BenitoLink approached Baxter after the court hearing, Damkar said she did not have a comment.
Baxter is charged with three felony counts involving an alleged embezzlement scheme, including forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime with public funds.
According to court documents, Baxter allegedly spent between $100,000 and $500,000 between July 2022 and April 2023 on merchandise.
San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor previously told BenitoLink that the merchandise, including camping equipment and electronics, was found at Baxter’s home. He also said Baxter, whose name was not released at the time, opened up a number of accounts that allowed her to order merchandise. No actual cash had been taken, he said.
Taylor did not immediately respond to BenitoLink’s call regarding whether his office was still investigating other suspects, as it had been in June.
District Attorney Joel Buckingham said his office has not received additional filings for the case.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.
The post Suspect in library embezzlement appears in court appeared first on BenitoLink.