Former Kemper County sheriff's bookkeeper pleads guilty

By Staff
special to The Star
Feb. 27, 2004
A former bookkeeper/secretary for the Kemper County Sheriff's Office was sentenced Thursday to 10 years five suspended and five on probation.
Tikisia Cole will serve her probation under the supervision of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Cole also was ordered to pay $12,966.50 in restitution and $295 in court costs and fees.
State Auditor Phil Bryant said his office delivered a letter dated July 14, 2003, to Cole and a bonding company demanding $22,034. The letter said that Cole embezzled money from the Kemper County Sheriff's Office.
Those losses occurred from August 2001 to May 2002. The demand included: $12,966.50 in principal, $2,472.12 in interest and $6,595.38 in investigative cost.
Bryant said Cole violated "the public's trust and this office will not tolerate embezzlement of taxpayers' dollars. We appreciate the work of the district attorney and the Kemper County Sheriff's Office for their full cooperation."
Kemper County Sheriff Sam Tisdale agreed.