Jury deadlocked in Lebanon larceny case
New London Superior Court Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed declared a mistrial Wednesday after a six-member jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of a woman charged with embezzling more than $20,000 while working as a bookkeeper for a Lebanon farmer.
In taking the case to trial, Lauri J. Villa of Willimantic, who was charged with first-degree larceny, had turned down an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a one-year prison sentence.
The state alleged Villa stole at least $20,000 from farmer/trucking company owner James Grover.
Villa had worked for Grover for more than eight years when, in December 2012, Grover became annoyed that Villa asked to take off the day after Christmas and told her to take the whole week off, according to testimony. During that week, he said he noticed inconsistencies with his checking account, reviewed them with his son, who was more computer savvy, and went to state police.
Grover estimated his losses at about $200,000. A state police detective stopped investigating after the losses totalled $20,000, which is the amount needed to prove first-degree larceny. A forensic accountant in the Chief State's Attorney's office calculated the losses at $140,000.
Villa contends that Grover, who paid her $12 an hour and allowed her to drive his older Jeep, regularly gave her gifts of money at random. She testified also that he continuously sexually harassed her and that is why she eventually left his employment.
The six-member jury began deliberating Tuesday morning and listened to playback of both Grover and Villa's trial testimony. The foreman sent out a note Wednesday afternoon indicating the panel was unable to reach a unanimous decision. Judge Jongbloed read them the so-called "Chip Smith" charge, which instructs jurors to once again try to reach a decision. The jury briefly resumed deliberating before sending out another note indicating they could not agree.
The case will return to the pretrial docket, where prosecutor Stephen M. Carney and defense attorney William T. Koch Jr. will resume plea negotiations before Judge Hillary B. Strackbein.
Villa, who was arrested in November 2014, has been free on a $25,000 bond while her case was pending.
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