Debbie Knapp leaves after making her plea today in Lewis County Superior Court.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The former director of the Lewis County Historical Museum pleaded not guilty today to multiple counts of theft from the non-profit organization dating back to 2008.
Deborah Sue Knapp, 52, appeared in Lewis County Superior Court with her attorney Ken Johnson.
She has been out of custody since she was charged at the end of December in connection with thousands of dollars missing from the Chehalis museum which she was in charge of.
“Not guilty,” was all Knapp said during the five-minute hearing.
Knapp is charged with 10 counts of first-degree theft, but prosecutors have said they expect further charges when an audit of the financial records going back to 2006 is completed.
She was arrested at the end of an investigation into revelations the museum’s endowment fund of more than $460,000 was drained in less than four years. Knapp was hired in July 2006.
Prosecutors allege Knapp routinely issued herself extra pay through payroll draws and used the museum debit card for personal expenses.
Knapp said she had no comment.
Chehalis attorney Johnson said it was premature to speculate on any of the facts, as he expects a “mountain” of evidence” to go through, which he has not seen yet.
“It sounds like there was poor record keeping in this case,” Johnson said. “Who’s responsible for that, I don”t know. Maybe we’ll find out.”
Attorneys set a trial date for the week of May 21, farther into the future than usual because of the numerous instances of alleged theft over such a long period.
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For background, see “Prosecutor: Former museum director gave herself thousands of dollars in fraudulent payroll draws” from Friday December 30, 2011, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter