Samantha Erika Dockery appeared for sentencing in the Tenth Judicial District Court on Tuesday, January 3, before Judge Thomas Stockard.
In October, Dockery pleaded guilty to the Category B Felony of Embezzlement of a Value of $25,000 or more but less than $100,000. According to the Criminal Complaint, Dockery embezzled $51,365 from an account meant to benefit her son.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Lane Mills began the state's argument by stating, “This is one of those sad cases that tears families apart. At the heart of this is probably drugs. Methamphetamine. And it's a shame.” He went on to say that according to the Pre-Sentence Investigative Report, the defendant is able-bodied and has nothing wrong with her. However, she told Parole & Probation that in order to support herself, she needed to take this money. She had no idea why they were there to arrest her as it was her money, although it was set up as a trust for her son for educational purposes.
Mills told the court, “Nothing stopped her from going out and doing what everybody else does in this world, everybody in this room, which is called get a job. Still to this day, no job.” While Mills conceded that Dockery has paid the money back, he said she is still making bad decisions. She still doesn't have a job; she is living off proceeds from selling her house and $500 a month from taxpayers in food stamps. Mills concluded by stating, “This is not the conduct of somebody who has learned their lesson.”
Wright Noel, with the Public Defender’s Office, began his argument by saying in agreement that this is a very sad situation. According to Noel, Dockery sold her largest asset, cashed that money out, and paid the $51,365 in restitution that she owned. Noel addressed concerns Mills raised about her employment status, saying, “I expect Drug Court to address that, as one of the court’s main focuses is getting people employed.” Noel continued, “But let's not let the fact that she's not employed gloss over the fact that she paid back $50,000. This is an impressive amount.” Noel said he believes Dockery is a good candidate for diversion and asked that the court grant her that privilege.
Dockery addressed the court, stating, “I’ve been trying to turn my life around.” According to Dockery, she has been sober for 5 months, has applied for about 15 jobs in the last weeks, and is just waiting to hear back. Additionally, she said she was homeless for a while, bought a fifth wheel, and now attends numerous meetings. Dockery told Judge Stockard that it has been pretty depressing, but she is working her way through that with counseling. “This is my first time in my life being sober. I’m doing a good job at it I feel. I'm running a perfect program so far,” Dockery said, who concluded her statement by telling Judge Stockard, “I would just really appreciate it if you let me continue.”
The grandmother of the victim read a letter written by the victim. In the letter, the victim stated, “Over multiple months, which I at the time had no knowledge, my college fund was nearly completely spent.” He wrote, “That my mom was so willing to commit and defend her actions while saying she loves me baffles me.” He went on to say that when he heard the news, he had never felt such confusion or numbness, and it was overwhelming. “Seeing the impact the situation had on my dad and other family members hurt more than the pain she did to me herself. Watching your family be continually torn apart by the actions of your birth mother led to me being scared to even be around her anymore.”
The victim concluded his letter to the court, saying, “I have grown to believe this is not how a mother should act or treat the one she claims she loves … I wish for the court to hold her accountable for her actions and declare proper punishment.”
Judge Stockard found that Dockery was eligible for the diversion through the Western Regional Drug Court and sentenced her to 36 months of probation on a suspended sentence of 48-120 months in prison, with probation to be extended one year if she has not completed drug court by the time her probation expires. Stockard ordered Dockery to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and follow the recommendations therein and further sentenced her to 30 days in the Churchill County Jail.
“You’ll get a little sense of what it will be like if you're not successful,” Stockard told Dockery. “Within 60 days of your release, if you are not working full time, you're going to do every weekend in the Churchill County Jail,” which he set as a standing order until she is employed.
Dockery was remanded to the custody of the Churchill County Sheriff for imposition of her jail sentence.
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