HAMILTON, Ohio -- A former Butler County corrections officer stole from a fundraiser for a soldier's memorial fund, Hamilton police alleged.
Halle Gudgell, 21, of Hamilton, was charged last month with misdemeanor theft, the Journal-News reports.
She appeared in court Tuesday morning, and Judge Dan Gattermeyer scheduled a trial for May 22. Defense attorney Kathleen Batliner said her client is innocent.
Gudgell removed a money box from Miami University Hamilton on June 2, according to a Hamilton police report.
It was part of a fundraiser for the Nicholas Olivas Memorial fund, the Journal-News reports. Olivas was killed May 30, 2012, when a device exploded while he was on patrol in Zharay, Afghanistan. The Hamilton native graduated from Fairfield High School.
The Journal-News reports Gudgell was hired as a sheriff's corrections office in August 2016 and resigned Jan. 30, after she was confronted with the allegations. She was still in her probationary period.
Read more about the case at the Journal-News, a WCPO media partner.
