CHARGE OF THEFT DROPPED RENT FUNDS AT ISSUE.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - Prosecutors dropped a grand theft charge Monday against the former director of the high school district's fund-raising foundation, saying allegations of misappropriated mis·ap·pro·pri·ate tr.v. mis·ap·pro·pri·at·ed, mis·ap·pro·pri·at·ing, mis·ap·pro·pri·ates 1. a. To appropriate wrongly: misappropriating the theories of social science. rent would be better handled in civil court. Deputy District Attorney John Portillo said that after reviewing records in the case, it appeared to be a civil rather than a criminal issue. Jill Harris, who last November resigned her $70,000-a-year job as head of the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley High School's Education Foundation, said she planned to ``go on with my life'' with the dismissal of the felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. charge. ``This is something that you don't want to live with every day,'' Harris said. ``I've been a mess. It was very upsetting. I put my whole life into the foundation.'' Harris had been accused of pocketing $2,560 paid by Grace Resources to rent office space in a building leased by the foundation from November 1997 through September 1999. Harris, 46, maintains that Grace Resources made rent payments to her for the sublease sublease n. the lease of all or a portion of premises by a tenant who has leased the premises from the owner. A sublease may be prohibited by the original lease, or require written permission from the owner. when she, not the foundation, was leasing office space in the Antelope Valley Allied Arts Association building at Cedar Avenue and Lancaster Boulevard. Portillo said a review of the records indicated that Harris was the lessee One who rents real property or Personal Property from another. A lessee of land is a tenant. Cross-references Landlord and Tenant. lessee n. the person renting property under a written lease from the owner (lessor). up until February 1999, so the amount of rent in dispute was $1,200. Harris' attorney, Donald Wager, presented a check Monday for $1,200 to be paid to the foundation. Wager described it as a ``charitable contribution charitable contribution n. in taxation, a contribution to an organization which is officially created for charitable, religious, educational, scientific, artistic, literary, or other good works. in honor of Jill Harris'' from him to the foundation and should not be considered restitution In the context of Criminal Law, state programs under which an offender is required, as a condition of his or her sentence, to repay money or donate services to the victim or society; with respect to maritime law, the restoration of articles lost by jettison, done when the because Harris denies any liability. ``I never felt there was any civil or criminal liability on behalf of Jill Harris for any monies she received from the subtenant sub·ten·ant n. One that rents property, such as land or a house, from a tenant. sub·ten  an·cy n. while under the lease which was in her name,'' Wager said. ``Legally, she had the right to take (the money).'' But Portillo considered the $1,200 restitution and said the foundation has been made whole. ``(Wager) can call it whatever he wants,'' Portillo said. ``He's trying to say it is not restitution because of a civil lawsuit pending, so it won't affect the civil case. The fact is, it's exactly the figure of the amount of rent she received that she should not have received.'' Harris has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming wrongful termination wrongful termination n. a right of an employee to sue his/her employer for damages (loss of wage and "fringe" benefits, and, if against "public policy," for punitive damages). , sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. and racial hostility. Earlier this month, she filed a civil lawsuit against the foundation, alleging wrongful termination and breach of contract. She said she is writing grants for other organizations that are not in the Antelope Valley. She advised the foundation board to ``take more interest in the organization they are a part of. They never were before.'' Harris, who was hired in 1997 to head the foundation, was placed on paid leave Nov. 2, 1999. At the time, board members said the foundation had $15,000 in overdue bills, which have since been paid. Later that month, Harris resigned under pressure. About a week after Harris' resignation, foundation officials went to sheriff's deputies and reported that the organization was missing money and equipment. The felony charge was filed in March. ``The district attorney made their decision. It's the district attorney's call,'' foundation board member Tom Ward said. ``The D.A. is the one in charge. We turned over the information for them to do with whatever they thought was proper.'' Ward noted the $1,200 payment, and said, ``We got back the money we felt belonged to us.'' |
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