Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Lewis County judge issued an arrest warrant yesterday for the former manger of a Chehalis furniture store, accused of pocketing money from cash sales and concocting phony invoices.

Misti M. Moore was expected to make her first appearance yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court, as a summons had been issued when a charge of first-degree theft was filed last month.

The summons was sent to her address on Littlerock Road in Olympia, but was returned to the prosecutor’s office, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meager said.

“We don’t know where she is,” Meager told the judge.

Moore, 45, had quit her job from Furniture World on North Market Boulevard with no explanation shortly before the business’s owner contacted Chehalis police in May of last year, according to court documents.

The owner Emina Jusupovic told an officer the issue came to her attention when a customer came in to ask about getting his furniture repaired and the items on his receipt did not match the entries in the company computer, Meagher wrote in charging documents.

A police detective was shown several instances suggesting similar cash transactions when he met with the new manager in July of last year.

One customer, for example, had a receipt showing he spent $2,000 on couches and love seats, but the store invoice showed a purchase of a table lamp for $43, according to Meagher.

That customer said he got a very good deal after he asked about a cash discount and a veteran’s discount and that one of the items he took home was advertised at $1,600 or $1,700, Meagher wrote.

Charging documents don’t indicate why it took more than a year to investigate and/or file criminal charges.

Meagher wrote in charging documents he currently has documentation of $5,880 missing, but the new manager found as much as $20,000 in discrepancies.

Moore has six prior felony convictions for embezzlement crimes committed in Virginia against another furniture store, according to Meagher.

Judge Nelson Hunt agreed to issue a $5,000 arrest warrant.

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

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