The former head of the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority plead guilty Friday afternoon to seven theft charges leveled more than three years ago, District Attorney Paul Howard's office announced.
Davetta Johnson Mitchell, facing up to 95 years in prison and a fine of $100,000, opted for a plea deal that will keep her out of jail. Instead she'll serve five years probation, the district attorney's office said, and pay a fine of $20,000, half of which was due Friday. She'll have the next five years to pay the remainder of that fine.
The former city councilwoman was accused of stealing $30,000 from the authority during a three-year period that ended in 2003. According to investigators, Mitchell, appointed director in 1997 by former Mayor Bill Campbell, wrote checks to herself on the city's dime for vacation and sick leave she had not earned.
Mitchell's case was delayed repeatedly, with her attorneys claiming that the statute of limitations on charges had expired.
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