Butler receives four-year deferred term
Amy C. Butler, the former Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office detective’s assistant, fired from her position in June for suspicion of felony embezzlement, was given a four-year deferred sentence Monday in 19th Judicial District Court.
The deferred sentence means if Butler, 37, abides by the terms of her probation, she will not serve jail time. According to the deal, Butler, who was represented by Attorney Ann German, agreed to pay full restitution for the $12,382 that she took while serving as administrator of the county’s 24/7 Sobriety Testing program. She was to provide a cashier’s check for the full amount Monday afternoon.
“It’s a fair deal,” said Kenneth Varns, an assistant attorney general, who prosecuted the case. “I would say it’s fair and consistent with other sentencings.”
Because Butler was a county employee, Varns was called in to conduct an investigation and later prosecuted the case. Varns, contacted at his Helena office after the sentencing, was asked whether a case in which Butler assisted prosecution could be called into question.
“Let me answer the question this way,” Varns said. “If someone has a conviction for felony embezzlement and was part of a (conviction), I would let the defense attorney know about that exculpatory information.”
Like many, Butler must adhere to stipulations of her probation, checking monthly with her probation officer. She must also pay a monthly $10 administration fee.
Specific terms of Butler’s probationary period are listed in the Presentence Investigation, but that document is confidential and not available to the public.
Butler and her attorney were escorted out a side door of the courtroom, and she was not available for comment after sentencing.
Earlier this month, 19th Judicial District Court struck down the county’s 24/7 Sobriety Testing program as unconstitutional.
Addressing a half-full courtroom, Wheelis said he would not allow comments on the sentencing.
“This is not a city council meeting where the public can speak,” Wheelis said.
German called Probation Officer David Dowell to testify. Dowell said he had no objections to allow a change for Butler to pay the full amount of restitution Monday. According to the deal, Butler was to pay half of the amount Monday and the rest during the four-year probation period, Dowell said. Full payment could qualify Butler to petition to lessen her probationary period.
“Yes, she could ask for that,” Varns said.
Butler worked for the Sheriff’s Office for 10 years. She was administrator for the agency’s 24/7 Sobriety Testing program. The program required arrestees, after being ordered by a judge, to provide breath samples twice daily to be tested for the presence of alcohol. The participants pay $2 per test, and it was Butler’s duties to account for the money.
In May, a discrepancy in the amount of money in the fund led to an investigation, which determined more than $11,000 was missing.
An internal investigation ensued, and it was determined by Sheriff Roby Bowe and Undersheriff Brent Faulkner that money had not been properly deposited with the Lincoln County Treasurer’s Office.
A subsequent audit of the newly formed program found accounts, after Butler had been removed as its administrator, to “be 100 percent,” Varns wrote in an affidavit in the case.
Butler could have faced between a year or as many as 10 years in prison.