Former Murray deputy pleads guilty to theft

Published 4:32 pm Thursday, July 19, 2018

A former Murray County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was arrested for stealing from the evidence room has been sentenced to 20 years on probation and must pay back $30,000.

According to the Clerk of Court’s office, Donna Lynn Woody pleaded guilty to one count of theft by taking in Superior Court on Wednesday before Judge Cindy Morris. Woody was indicted on two counts of theft by taking. The other count was dropped as part of the plea agreement that was granted under first-offender status.

Attempts to contact Woody on Thursday were unsuccessful. Messages left for District Attorney Bert Poston were not immediately returned.

Woody must also pay a $1,000 fine, court costs and probation fees. She must perform 100 hours of community service and surrender her certification as a deputy. She is prohibited from working for law enforcement agencies. If she completes her community service and at least $25,000 of the restitution has been paid in five years, the rest of the sentence will be suspended.

The exact amount of the money taken from the evidence room hasn’t been released, but the indictment said it was at least $25,000.

Woody was arrested in October of 2017. At the time Sheriff Gary Langford said Woody had stolen “at least $16,000.” Woody was arrested after Langford said the department received an anonymous tip that money had been taken out of the evidence room. He said Woody had worked for the sheriff’s office for at least 15 years.