(Photo from the Sheridan Detention Center website)

Melissa Dianne Murphy, 60, of England, a former Center Grove Water Association employee charged in 2024 with using the organization’s credit card for personal purchases, was arrested Monday on a bench warrant seeking to revoke her probation, according to Grant County court records.

The warrant, issued Sept. 25 by the circuit clerk, lists probation revocation on the original case and the four felony counts filed there: theft of property greater than $25,000 and three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.

Bond was set at $5,000 cash or professional and orders her to contact a probation officer within 48 hours of release.

A Grant County Sheriff’s Office officer served Murphy Monday at the Sheridan Detention Center, according to the warrant return. A detention notification dated Monday says she had not made the $5,000 bond.

The records provided to The Fire do not include a plea, sentencing order, probation terms or the petition to revoke.

They do not say when she was placed on probation or what violation is alleged.

Murphy appeared by Zoom Tuesday for a first appearance, according to a form filed at 2:40 p.m.

The form lists a public defender, A. Lambert, for that hearing only, and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney J. Weber for the state. It marks “revocation” as the matter, lists the warrant as the basis for probable cause, and marks personal recognizance as the release condition. It orders her to appear at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 25 in Grant County Circuit Court.

Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Howell’s office filed the original information April 11, 2024.

Count one charges theft of property, a Class B felony, alleging that from about September 2022 through February 2024 Murphy used the association’s credit card to make personal purchases, paid the bill with the organization’s money, and that the purchases were worth more than $25,000.

Counts two through four charge fraudulent use of a credit card, alleging she bought goods and services she knew the association had not authorized. Count two is a Class B felony for purchases above $25,000 from September 2023 through February 2024.

Count three is a Class C felony for purchases between $5,000 and $25,000 from March through August 2023.

Count four is a Class D felony for purchases between $1,000 and $5,000 from September 2022 through February 2023.

Sheridan Police Lt. Robert Byrd swore an affidavit in support of arrest March 28, 2024.

Byrd wrote that the association reported March 8, 2024, that a former employee had made unauthorized purchases with a credit card issued to it by Simmons Bank. Murphy had left her job Feb. 19, 2024, and the current office manager later found the charges, according to the affidavit.

The association identified unauthorized charges on statements from May 2022 through March 2024 that totaled $73,302.12, the affidavit states.

On March 25, 2024, the office manager reported more statements showing an additional $1,821.55. Byrd wrote that in each sequential six-month period from September 2022 to March 2024, unauthorized charges exceeded $1,000.

Byrd interviewed Murphy at the Sheridan Police Department on March 28, 2024.

According to the affidavit, she acknowledged wrongfully and willingly making the charges. When told they totaled more than $70,000, she said she would not dispute the figure. She said no one else was involved or knew she was using the card and that she had no plan to repay the money, Byrd wrote.

Murphy acknowledged the nature of some of the charges, including groceries, lodging and utility bills for her household, according to the affidavit.

Circuit Judge Stephen Shirron found probable cause the same day and set bond at $10,000 cash or professional bond.

The information and affidavit contain allegations, and the documents reviewed show no finding on the revocation request.

Murphy is due back in Grant County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 25.