Bend office manager gets 2 years for embezzling $190,000

(Update: Cannon had raised $40,000 in restitution; state seeking $210,000)

A Bend-area woman was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for embezzling nearly $200,000 while working as the office manager for well-known golf course designer David McLay Kidd.

Katrina Cannon, 40, had pleaded no contest on May 1 to four of the 16 charges she faced, thus avoiding a pending trial for stealing the funds over a three-year period working for DMK Golf Design, which designs and builds golf courses around the world.

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Randy Miller issued the sentence before a packed courtroom at the end of an emotional hearing, delayed about 40 minutes so he could review more than 90 pages of character-witness testimony and accounting documents submitted Tuesday by Cannon’s defense attorney.

Cannon pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree aggravated theft, two counts of aggravated ID theft and one count of criminal forfeiture.

Deputy District Attorney Daniel Reesor asked the court to impose a three-year sentence, followed by two years of post-prison supervision.

Reesor had said after her no contest pleas that he would recommend a sentence of two years in prison if she paid at least $50,000 in restitution by her sentencing, and if not that the judge impose a four-year term.

Reesor said Cannon had $40,000 to put toward restitution, with the rest to be determined in the next 90 days. He said the state is seeking about $210,000 in restitution, and the judge said he will hold a restitution hearing soon, though a date has not been set.

Reesor told the judge Cannon stole the money in several ways, including overpaying herself or giving herself extra paychecks. He noted unauthorized expense reimbursements for items such as makeup and gift cards, as well as water for her home.

Her defense lawyer, Casey Baxter, called Cannon “a good person” who didn’t complete college and said the person who was supposed to train her as accountant left abruptly. He also said she worked overtime with no vacations, except to help move her son to college, and that her reorganization of the books resulted in a profit for the firm. He asked that she receive a 60-day jail term.

When it was her opportunity to speak, Cannon told the judge, “I didn’t do everything correctly” but added, “I didn’t intend to do harm. … I wanted to set an example for my children.”

Cannon apologized to her family and friends for making them go through this, crying softly, as did several people in the audience.

The judge said it’s unusual to see so much support for a defendant in the courtroom but said he had not seen compelling reasons to interpret the charges in any other way than as planned. Miller ordered Cannon to report to jail before 7 p.m. Tuesday and said any items seized are forfeited. He also said he imposed no court fines as he wants any paid restitution to go to the victims.