Former Reynolds city clerk pleads guilty to fiduciary theft

BUTLER, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A former city clerk in Reynolds has been ordered to pay $17,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to fiduciary theft.

Tonya Dawn Kirksey, 47, was sentenced on Tuesday as a first offender during a hearing in the Taylor County Superior Court almost three years after her initial arrest in August of 2015.

During her time working as a city clerk from 2015-2018, she took cash from the city’s account and replaced it with personal checks that later bounced.

According to evidence gathered by prosecutor Neil Halvorson, Kirksey also altered computer records in the city’s database to change the amounts people paid for traffic fines.

She used the money for personal expenses including meals and vacation.

Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke gave the following statement after the trial concluded:

“Ms. Kirksey betrayed the public’s trust when she stole the city’s money. Now she will spend eight years paying back what she took. We’re happy to have gotten justice for the city of Reynolds and its residents.”

Kirksey will serve 30 days in jails only on weekends and eight years on probation.