In mid-April, a Gainesville church employee was let go after her position was eliminated.

Within two weeks, church officials said they realized that about $163,000 worth of funds were missing from the books, leading to the ex-employee’s arrest Saturday.

Stacy Lynne Richardson, 36, faces felony counts of theft by deception and computer trespass, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Richardson, who was the administrative assistant at Chicopee Baptist Church, is accused of making unauthorized purchases with the church’s credit card.

The church eliminated the administrative assistant job April 14, the release said. The sheriff’s office was contacted 11 days later about the missing funds.

Investigators accused Richardson of using the church’s credit card since January 2015 to make unauthorized purchases. In addition, the sheriff’s office said she remotely accessed the church’s computer system without authority with the intent of deleting files April 22.

On Monday, she was released from the Hall County Jail on a $8,450 bond, the release said. The investigation by the sheriff’s office is ongoing.

In other news:

Channel 2's Tom Regan went to one on Tuesday that tested for the virus and antibodies.

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Peggy Harris (foreground) stocks the shelves at Sandy's IGA, which is the only grocery store in town, Tuesday, October 7, 2025, in Sparta. Hancock County has one of the highest rates of childhood food insecurity in the country. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

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