By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Mossyrock city clerk now stands accused not only of stealing roughly $7,700 from the city, but of making large monthly withdrawals – from roughly $2,200 to as much as $4,833 – from the municipality’s accounts going back to October.
Doneia A. Santiago
Doneia A. Santiago, 53, pleaded not guilty to first-degree theft earlier this month, but already the mayor the police chief and prosecutors were digging up new information by looking into transactions at Key Bank, where the city did business until moving to Security State Bank.
Santiago was arrested on June 26 and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
The alleged thefts came to light when Santiago approached the mayor to tell him her husband inadvertently used the city credit card to make an approximately $3,600 payment to Central Mortgage, according to court documents.
The initial charges also made mention of ATM withdrawals the mayor said were not authorized and use of Mossyrock’s bank card to purchase fuel.
In a supplemental affidavit filed in Lewis County Superior Court, prosecutors write that on the day Santiago was charged, Morton Police Chief Roger Morningstar was notified Santiago had issued herself a payroll check on June 20, which was not a regular payroll date.
Morningstar advised the mayor to look over the Key Bank accounts, where they found a number of transactions made to Central Mortgage, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello wrote.
The total comes to more than $37,000.
Information from the Lewis County Assessors Office shows Santiago co-owns nearly 10 acres and a three-bedroom house outside of Mossyrock assessed at more than $258,000.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed the supplemental affidavit and an amended information on July 8.
The charge of first-degree theft was left out, but in its place are nine charges of second-degree theft and nine charges of first-degree identity theft.
Santiago has retained Centralia attorney Don Blair. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 4.
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For background, read “Thousands of dollars in unauthorized transactions attributed to Mossy city clerk” from Monday June 27, 2016, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
It looks like she spent all that cash down at the Wal-Mart on Oreo cookies. ‘Merica!!!!!
fire the mayor and city council too.!!! never should have gone this far…hang her and throw away the key…i believe there is more missing…cash in water payment box, missing? beer garden?? donations to park??? and party’s she collected for…hmmm
$37,000 (and counting) plus nine charges of ID theft? Ohhh, this does not look good. Ms. Santiago WILL have her day in court, but Don Blair has his work cut out for him. May the truth prevail.
She also owns a home in town. It’s listed on the county assessors website. It’s valued at about $80,000. I hope that at the conclusion of her criminal case, the city sues to recover tax payers money!