A former Starkville Parks and Recreation Department employee has been sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty in an embezzlement case.
Schronda Eddins, 39, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the state. Mississippi 16th Circuit Judge Lee Howard sentenced Eddins to a five-year suspended prison sentence, five years of post-release supervision and five years of probation. He also ordered her to repay the city of Starkville $15,200 in restitution. Eddins, according to court documents, entered a not guilty plea on Monday.
Starkville police arrested Eddins and several other parks department employees and contractors, including former director Herman Peters, in December 2017 and January 2018. According to affidavits from the arrests, Peters conspired with former Parks and Recreation administrative assistant Diane Evans to pay employees, including Eddins, for more hours than they worked.
Eddins is the first suspect to be sentenced in the case. Peters and former parks contractors Marion Watson and Anthony Stevenson have also been charged with embezzlement.
Eddins was previously convicted for a 2012 false pretense charge in Lowndes County. In that case, she was sentenced to three years in prison, with two suspended, one to serve, two years of post-release supervision and paying restitution.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.