Guilty pleas entered in embezzlement, drug cases

Two guilty pleas were accepted in Bedford County Circuit Court on Monday -- one for embezzlement and another involving the sale of drugs.

Judge Robert Crigler sentenced Crystal Kim O'Neal, 41, to serve a year in jail and 11 years on probation on the charge of theft over $60,000.

O'Neal will also have to pay a total of $125,000 in restitution to Preferred Glass, with $5,000 due within 45 days.

According to assistant district attorney Mike Randles, O'Neal had been employed as the office manager of Preferred Glass for a number of years and, over time, had been taking money from the firm through bank deposits and via a company credit card, which she used to make purchases for her own personal use.

The thefts went on "for a period of years" Randles said until after owner Jeff Pitts discovered the missing money. O'Neal admitted to him and Shelbyville police that she took the funds.

Also sentenced on Monday by Crigler was Charles E. Orange, 49, who received a 22-year sentence for five counts of sale of schedule II and possession of VI for resale. Orange had prior offenses, making him a Range II offender, which resulted in the higher sentence.