A Paragould woman faces felony charges after police allege she submitted forged documentation of community service to her parole officer.
Kathy Newman is being held at the Greene County Detention Center on a $15,000 cash or surety bond. During a court appearance on Friday, District Judge Curtis Hitt determined there was probable cause to charge her with second-degree forgery, a Class C felony.
According to an affidavit prepared by Cpl. Tron Beesley of the Paragould Police Department, an Arkansas Probation and Parole agent contacted the department's Major Crimes Unit on October 13 regarding suspicious paperwork submitted by Newman.
The agent explained that Newman had been required to complete community service hours to address delinquent supervision fees. That same afternoon, Newman’s daughter delivered two handwritten notes to the parole office claiming that Newman had worked six hours of community service on October 8 and 5.5 hours on October 12. Both notes were reportedly signed by a person identified as "Jenny Lyons" from Mission Outreach, a local nonprofit organization.
After reviewing the documents, the parole agent contacted Mission Outreach to verify the claims. Representatives from the organization stated that they do not typically provide handwritten notes verifying service hours. Furthermore, they confirmed that Lyons was not at the facility on October 12, raising further concerns about the authenticity of the notes.
The agent confronted Newman about the questionable documentation. According to the affidavit, Newman admitted she knew the documents were forged but claimed it was not her idea to submit them.
As of now, Newman remains in custody awaiting further legal proceedings. Second-degree forgery in Arkansas is a felony charge that carries potential penalties including fines and incarceration if convicted.