SAN ANTONIO — A former manager of the BIRD Bakery in Alamo Heights will spend four years in prison.
A judge sentenced 24-year-old Jessica Martinez after she pleaded "no contest" to stealing more than $124,000 dollars from the bakery. Records show she took the money over the course of 464 transactions in 18 months.
It's money she used to buy gifts for herself and her co-workers. A judge also ordered her to pay that money back.
In a statement, BIRD owner Elizabeth Chambers Hammer, said:
“From the day we opened our doors at BIRD, it has been our goal to approach and operate our company as a small business – no matter how large the company becomes. From day one, we have treated our employees (and guests) like family and have put significant trust in our staff, particularly senior management.
Unfortunately, one of our trusted managers chose to commit an egregious crime over the course of many, many months and today, thanks to Dawn McCraw and Judge Stephanie Boyd, justice was served.
In the words of ADA McCraw, ‘Crimes are not committed in a vacuum.’ There are far-reaching effects as a result of the defendant’s actions. Not only did our business suffer, our other staff members did as well, both emotionally and financially.
My team and I could not be more grateful for the diligent pursuit of justice by Dawn McCraw, Justin Fischer and Texas Ranger Keith Pauska during this process. We feel very confident that Judge Boyd made the best decision and we are grateful for the precedent and example that she has set for our company.”
The small company was stunned when they discovered the money missing, as we reported last year.
Because of the missing money, the company said it was not able to give raises or bonuses to Martinez’s coworkers. It also had to shift funds from its Dallas location to supplement payroll at the Alamo Heights location.
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