Jackson’s Gap clerk indicted

By Katie Cole (Contact) | Dadeville Record

Published Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Jackson’s Gap town clerk was arrested and charged with theft of property Monday.

Teresa Freeman, 58, was indicted by a Tallapoosa County grand jury of first-degree theft of property for allegedly taking more than $2,500 from the Town of Jackson’s Gap, according to the indictment. Freeman was arrested Monday and released from the Tallapoosa County jail the same day on $10,000 bond.

Jackson’s Gap Mayor J.D. Ayers confirmed Freeman’s arrest and said she had been suspended from her duties as town clerk.

“At this time she has been placed on suspension until March 9 when the town council meets,” Ayers said.

Tallapoosa County District Attorney E. Paul Jones said that as an employee of the city, Freeman should be held to a higher standard of conduct.

“We’ve had a surprisingly large number of employees recently who have taken funds from their employers,” Jones said. “A public employee is subject to a greater expectation of honesty than a private employee.”

This is not the first time Freeman has been accused of mismanaging town funds. In January 2009, The Alexander City Outlook reported Freeman paid $5,092 to the chief examiner of the Alabama Examiners of Public Accounts after the department found the money missing during a town audit.

In 2004 she went to trial on charges that she stole $32,000 from the town in the form of business license fees and court fines that were paid in cash between October 1999 and November 2000, according to a 2004 Outlook article. Freeman’s defense claimed she overlooked the missing money because of stress and a mistrial was declared after the jury failed to come to a verdict.

According to the indictment, Freeman will be arraigned on March 22 and a trial date has been set for June 14. Attempts to reach Freeman were unsuccessful.

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