A Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office document included in a district court case file had reported that Jessica Hernandez, 33, of Cortez completed 200 hours public service at the Cortez Public Library on May 28, 2014. But library director Eric Ikenouye informed The Cortez Journal on Tuesday, Sept. 23, that he had no record of the service. He added that it was against city policy for the library to satisfy such court-ordered sentences.
He shook his head in disbelief when presented a copy of the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office report that signed off on service at the public library.
On Wednesday, Montezuma County Undersheriff Lynda Carter confirmed that Hernandez was turned away from the library. She said that the community service hours instead were performed at Lewis Elementary. A school official verified that Hernandez completed 228 hours and 35 minutes of useful public service at the rural school north of Cortez, said Carter.
In August 2013, Hernandez was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to felony theft in connection to a four-year embezzlement scheme she operated while employed at a local dental clinic. She served 90 days in jail and remains on probation.
The 2013 embezzlement conviction was not the first for Hernandez. In 2009, she was granted a deferred adjudication and sentence on a felony charge after falsifying an administrative license as an employee at The Valley Inn in Mancos.
Hired last month as a Kemper Elementary paraprofessional, Hernandez helps teach reading to about three dozen students.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com