A Clovis woman has been charged with embezzling between $80,000 and $100,000 from a private law firm where she was employed, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Curry County Magistrate Court.

Debbie Molina, 33, was arrested April 16 and released on an $1,800 appearance bond, jail officials said.

She is charged with 78 counts, including one count of fraud; one count of forgery; one felony count of embezzlement of more than $2,500; 47 felony counts of embezzlement of more than $500; and 28 misdemeanor counts of embezzlement of more than $250.

A phone listing for Molina has been disconnected. Efforts to contact her were unsuccessful.

An investigator with the district attorney’s office was contacted by Molina’s employer, who said after their accountant discovered thousands of dollars missing, Molina admitted she took money from their firm during the 10 years she worked for them, the affidavit said.

Molina, they said, signed her 401k valued at $35,000 over to the firm to repay some of the money and they terminated her, records show.

According to the affidavit, Molina used company accounts to pay personal bills such as cell phone and utilities. She also falsified loan applications to show her income as higher and falsified welfare and low-income assistance applications to reflect less income, according to the affidavit.

The company’s owners also provided the investigator evidence that Molina used a work computer to alter her paycheck for loan and public assistance applications.

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A former Clovis police officer has filed suit against the City of Clovis and Chief of Police Dan Blair for wrongful termination, according to court records.

In a complaint filed in the 9th Judicial District Court, Matthew Hess said he was terminated in October 2007 and is seeking unspecified damages for lost employment, benefits, attorney fees and “punitive damages in an amount sufficient enough to punish the (city and police department) and to deter others from similar wrongdoing,” the complaint said.

City Manager Joe Thomas declined to comment on pending litigation and referred inquiries to attorney Virginia Anderman, who did not return a call seeking comment.

The city has not yet filed a response to the complaint, court records show.

According to the complaint, Hess was with the department for more than a year when he was asked if he had applied for a job at another police department. He said he had not. Hess said that Blair told him he was being terminated and he could either accept the termination or sign a letter of resignation. Blair refused to tell him why or allow him an opportunity to seek Council, the complaint said.

He also said that he was told that he was ineligible to file a grievance.

A copy of city policy was included in the complaint, which stated that after a one-year probationary period, employees are entitled to prior notification of disciplinary action and reasons for termination and also are allowed to request a hearing to refute the reasons they are being disciplined or terminated.

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A father claims his daughter was wrongfully arrested by a school resource officer, according to a lawsuit filed in 9th Judicial District Court against the City of Clovis, Clovis Police Department, and Officer Tim Marshall.

The complaint, filed by Darryl McGill, said Marshall arrested the female student at Marshall Middle School in February 2007, when she walked away from him after he told her to stay in his office.

Marshall had been asked by a teacher to assist with the girl when she allegedly refused to do her work in class. When the officer told her he was going to keep her after school, she refused and walked out of his office. The officer arrested her for resisting, evading or obstructing an officer when she refused to stop walking away, the complaint said.

The complaint alleges the officer was acting in place of a teacher and since there was no violation of law and he was not acting to enforce the order of a court, he had no legal foundation to arrest the child.

The complaint seeks unspecified damages, including attorney’s fees, and other relief at the court’s discretion.

Clovis City Manager Joe Thomas declined comment and city litigation attorney Gregory Biehler did not return calls seeking comment.

In a response to the complaint, the city denied all allegations of the lawsuit, claiming legal immunity; improper jurisdiction; and that the complaint does not comply with law governing claims.

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A Clovis man has filed a lawsuit against Police Officer Joshua Parkin, the City of Clovis and the Clovis Police Department, alleging he was falsely arrested during a traffic stop in May 2007, according to a complaint filed in 9th Judicial District Court.

According to the complaint, Michael Dickson was pulled over because he failed to dim his fog lights for oncoming traffic.

During the stop, Parkin saw a gun in the vehicle and arrested Dickson for felon in possession of a firearm, records show.

According to the complaint, Dickson was not a felon and was held for more than 16 hours at the jail. All charges, including the traffic citations, were later dismissed.

The suit seeks unspecified damages for negligence, malicious prosecution, assault and battery, wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.

Clovis City Manager Joe Thomas declined comment and city litigation attorney Gregory Biehler did not return calls seeking comment.

According to court records, the city requested a dismissal and denied the allegations, claiming immunity.

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 Officers from the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office and the Region V Task Force arrested an Elida man Monday on drug trafficking charges, according to a RCSO news release.

Antonio Navarette, 41, of Elida was arrested on first-degree felony charges of trafficking cocaine (second offense) and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. If convicted, Navarette could face up to 18 years in prison.

Navarette was out on release from a prior drug trafficking charge and confined to his home with an ankle monitor at the time of his arrest, according to the release.

Officers received a tip that a large amount of cocaine was being kept inside Navarette’s residence at 1004 Main St. in Elida, according to the release. Officers went to the residence and obtained consent to search from Navarette and located approximately 2-1/2 ounces of suspected cocaine in a glass vase inside the residence. A warrant was obtained and other suspected drug paraphernalia also was seized, according to the release.

Navarette was booked into Roosevelt County Detention Center, where he remains under a $50,000 bond.

Officers estimate the street value of the suspected cocaine at $7,000.

Cops and Courts is compiled by Sharna Johnson. Contact her at 763-3431, ext. 314, or by e-mail:
sharna_johnson@link.freedom.com