A former Harbor Beach Speedy Q manager might find herself in prison for life after being found guilty on Friday for embezzling from her job in 2019.
Tracy McDaniel, age 44, was found guilty on a total of three charges: one count of Embezzlement of Over $1,000 and less than $20,000, one count of False Report of a Felony, and one count of Lying to a Police Officer. The charges stem from a Harbor Beach Police investigation that started on July 15, 2019, when McDaniel called them to report that the gas station/convenience store had been robbed, with $13,000 and the store’s surveillance device and recordings being taken.
However, after attempting to locate the money and the DVR recorder, police determined that the store manager had called in the theft to cover for her embezzlement. The DVR recorder was eventually found hidden in the store, having been unplugged from the surveillance cameras. It was used during McDaniel’s trial to demonstrate that she was the only person in the office when the money was supposedly stolen.
Though McDaniel’s first jury trial ended in a mistrial, the three-day retrial began Tuesday, January 24. During trial, Huron County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney David Wallace was able to present evidence that included testimony from the other two employees who were working with the defendant on July 15th, bank and business accounting records, video statements by the defendant, and the actual video recordings from the store.
It only took the jury an hour and 15 minutes to find McDaniel guilty on the three counts, but it’s her habitual offender– 4th offense status after three past felonies on her record that may harshen her March sentencing. While felony embezzlement of Over $1,000 and less than $20,000 carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, her status as a habitual offender fourth offense makes it so the maximum is now up to life in prison.
It is unclear if the other charges will affect her sentencing time as well, as a felony charge of false report of a felony is punishable up to four years in prison, with lying to police about a felony carrying a sentence of no more than two years.
County Prosecutor Tim Rutkowski praised the integrity of this case because of the complete and thorough investigation by the Harbor Beach Police Department, thanking Officer Dave Navock for his “quick response and detailed investigation” in a press release on Friday.
McDaniel is due back before Judge Gerald M. Prill for sentencing on March 20, 2023.
