The former executive director of a Cortez nonprofit suspected of felony theft and witness tampering could have her charges reduced to a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Cheryl J. Beene, 60, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to a Class 1 misdemeanor charge of theft between $750 and $2,000. The plea deal offered by District Attorney Will Furse in 22nd Judicial Court dismissed a Class 4 felony charge of witness tampering, a Class 6 felony charge of theft between $2,000 and $5,000 and a misdemeanor charge of theft between $300 and $750.
District Court Judge Todd Plewe said he accepted the plea deal pending the results of a presentence investigation.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 19. Furse said the prosecution is not seeking more than two days in jail. A Class 1 misdemeanor in Colorado is punishable to a minimum of six months in jail, a $500 fine, or both.
Beene is the former executive director of Renew Inc., a Cortez nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence. She is suspected of taking items from Renew and the Second Chance Thrift Store in Dolores, which Renew operates, and bringing them to her home as well as taking money from the donation jars for personal use.
According to several Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office interviews with Renew employees, Beene allegedly told an employee to “keep her mouth shut and stop asking questions,” when she stole tablets that were meant for the Renew safehouse and took them home to her grandsons. She said they needed them for school.
MCSO opened an investigation into Beene in July 2018, when employees at Renew placed Beene on administrative leave pending the investigation of missing money, merchandise and an XBOX 360 gaming system.
Employees told an MCSO detective that the conversation among staff was that if any item of value came in to the thrift store, they belonged to Beene.
One employee said the situation was so bad that if other employees wanted to donate something, they would wait until Beene was not working out of fear that she would take the donations for herself.
Another employee said they saw Beene take donations from Renew to her car 50 times over the years, not including items taken from the thrift shop. Another employee alleged Beene put the name of her children and grandchildren on the donation list meant for safe house members, one employee said.
An XBOX 360 gaming system was reported to be the largest item that Beene is suspected of stealing from the nonprofit that she ran.
According to an MCSO incident report, a Washington state nonprofit called Child’s Play, which donates gaming systems to hospitals and domestic violence shelters worldwide, donated a $1,150 custom XBOX 360 system to Renew in May 2015. Elevation Exhibits and Events then built a cabinet for the XBOX 360 valued at $1,160, for a total cost of $2,310.
The XBOX 360 was installed at the Renew safe house in Cortez until July 2018, when Beene asked the system be removed and sold at the thrift. One employee said Beene became angry when a child wanted to play video games.
An employee said the system was taken back to Renew, and a few weeks later, Beene and her husband loaded the gaming system and cabinet to take to the thrift store. The employee called the thrift store to check whether the XBOX 360 ever arrived, but learned it never made it.
According to an interview with one employee, shortly after Beene and her husband left with the XBOX 360 system, Beene told her, “If you are ever asked, I paid for a gaming system.”
Employees said Beene would eat out nearly every day and was often seen pulling money from her desk, where she would keep monetary donations from Renew.
In December 2016, Beene hired her daughter, Casey Vickers, as manager of Second Chance Thrift Shop. An employee said Vickers would send her mother pictures of donated items, and Beene would come pick them up. The employee said the system for counting and verifying money from the register changed when Vickers was hired, and Beene on at least one occasion took money from the register to go out to lunch.
Furse said Beene lacks any criminal history and felt a misdemeanor disposition would be the best closure for this case.
sdolan@the-journal.coms