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Show Local store manager bound over to court The former manager of Sprouse Reitz in Cedar City last week was bound over to stand trial on a charge of theft by deception, a third degree felony. Kevin Atkinson was originally charged with a second degree felony, but the charge was reduced to third degree by Ninth Circuit Court Judge Christian Ronnow after determining that the amount of money involved in the alleged crime was less than $1,000. Atkinson will stand trial before Fifth District Court Judge J. Harlan Burns. Judge Ronnow in binding him over noted that such action does not in any' way show guilt or innocence in an alleged crime. Instead, it shows that there is "probable cause" that the crime has been committed and possibly by the suspect. Atkinson is now charged with taking just over $800 from the Sprouse Reitz store instead of paying an ad-' vertisement bill to Tri-State Publishing with the money. The incidence arose after it was discovered that money being collected to pay the bill was missing. Sprouse Reitz nas a policy of removing money from the cash register over several days to pay such large bills. (The total bill to Tri-State Publishing was $1238.98.) This cash is then hidden by the manager in the store until enough is collected to pay the bill. According to Atkinson's defense, he had collected the money and hidden it in the stock room.' When he went to retrieve it for his district manager, Robert H. Reynolds, over $800 of the total was missing. Atkinson says he doesn't know where the money went. Sprouse Reitz says Atkinson took it. A trial date has not been set, but he will probably be arraigned before Burns the first week of September. |