City of Archer employee arrested for stealing over $14k from the City
Staff report
ARCHER, Fla. – Justin Bobby Southard, 34, was arrested yesterday and charged with grand theft after allegedly stealing $14,500 in cash deposits from the City of Archer, his employer.
On the morning of September 9, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to Archer City Hall, where the acting City Manager said she had been reviewing financial paperwork and noticed that some receipts and money were missing; specifically, the receipts were for cash deposits from June, July, and August, and the City Manager said Southard and one other employee would be responsible for that cash. She said she asked both employees about the missing cash and receipts, and Southard admitted to taking the money. Southard reportedly said he was going to pay it back when he could.
The deputy reported that Southard was packing his desk when he arrived.
Post Miranda, Southard reportedly became emotional and admitted to stealing $14,500 in cash. When the deputy asked what he did with the money, he reportedly said he spent it on his kids and “personal use”; he did not explain what “personal use” was. Southard reportedly said the money was all gone and apologized for stealing it.
Southard has been charged with grand theft over $10,000. He has no criminal history, and Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him released on his own recognizance.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Negligent practices like this are why the City of Archer is in trouble. Cash should be reconciled and verified on a daily basis in any entity that handles deposits. Letting three months worth be unaccounted is asking for trouble.
Checks and balances should be standard practice in any business, especially the government. The money he stole came from taxpayers. His manager/s should be in trouble as well.
Lol, his aunt is a city councilwoman!
Looks like he ate the 14K to me?
“Yes, I absolutely want to super-size that”
The court trusts this individual enough to release him without financial collateral or any terms or conditions? Now you know why this behavior continues.
Felony GRAND THIEF 🤔 And released on OWN OR? Riiiggghhht.. smh
Almost seems unfair to arrest Big Bubba here for stealing $14k when the Gainesville City Commission likely steal millions by laundering it through GRACE Marketplace and unnaturally high-paying city jobs (I’ll give you a $400k job, but you need to pay me $40k of that).
Maybe Big Bubba and Bryan Eastman can share a cot in Alligator Alcatraz.
Big Bubba got caught because someone actually did their job (albeit extremely untimely) and followed the money. Unlike the Gainesville commission who fearlessly abuses funds because no one is holding them accountable. I hope the audit results are released soon in explicit detail going back to Hanrahan and the biomass scandal. I want to know what they’re doing with my money and if they can be assigned a mandatory babysitter