Stoddard County woman sentenced for stealing from elderly Advance couple

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Stoddard County woman was sentenced Friday in a case that involved a $10,000 theft from an elderly Advance couple, the Dexter Daily Statesman reported.

Leslie Sappington, 30, of Advance, who is known to also go by the name Leslie Markham, was originally charged with the Class C felony of stealing.

She was sentenced Wednesday to serve five years probation with restitution in the amount of $6,780. If she does not successfully repay the money and stay out of trouble, she will be mandated to serve a four-year prison sentence.

Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Briney Welborn stated that the reason Sappington was sentenced to probation, as opposed to prison, was because the couple from whom the money was taken is in need of their money, and going to prison greatly decreases the chance of getting it.

"The woman needs to go to prison," he said. "But, more importantly, [the victim] needs her money returned."

According to the incident report, on Jan. 31 Sgt. David Garner with the Advance Police Department received a call from the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department regarding a crime committed in the city.

Garner and a deputy then went to visit with the 77-year-old victim and her great nephew.

The victim reportedly stated that she had taken $10,000 out of a lock box and placed it in an envelope. She said that she then placed the envelope in a drawer in a bedroom.

She checked on it the morning of Jan. 26 before Sappington was coming to watch her husband while she went to the doctor in Cape Girardeau.

The victim said Sappington did something strange on the day in question.

"She wanted [victim] to leave the garage door up so that her grandfather could bring her cloth shopping bag and a hair cutting kit so she could cut [victim's husband's] hair," the report states. "When [victim] came back home, Leslie was sitting at the table working on a pile of papers. She also noticed that Leslie had not cut (husband's) hair. Leslie left shortly after (victim) arrived home."

Sappington was reportedly scheduled to return and sit with the husband the next day, but the victim received a call informing her that Sappington was in the Cape Girardeau County Jail for questioning on another matter.

At this point, the victim went to move the money before the other woman arrived and found it was missing. She and her great nephew searched the house and never located the money. The victim stated that Sappington knew she kept the money in that room because she would go in there to get money to pay Sappington in cash.

On Feb. 1, Garner filed for a search warrant on Sappington's residence but before it was served she was interviewed at the Advance Police Department.

"During the interview, [Sappington] stated that she knew the money was in the dresser for approximately two weeks and kept an eye on it when other people were around to make sure that no one would get into the money," the report states. "She also admitted to us and on a signed statement, that she did take some money from the top dresser drawer in the husband's bedroom."

According to the report, Sappington stated that she took $2,400 out of the stack of money to pay some legal fees and placed the rest back in the drawer. When asked where the money was located, Sappington reportedly offered to take the officer to get it.

When the police arrived at her home, Sappington grabbed a blue and black file bag and took out a stack of money and gave it to Garner. The stack contained $2,920.

"[Sappington] also took three-$100 bills out of her billfold and stated that it was not part of the money, but that she would give it to us to be put with the rest," Garner stated in his report.

Sappington stated that $5,400 of the money had been used to pay legal fees to three different attorneys.

Sappington was arrested in early February and bonded out shortly after her arrest.