Angela M. McMunn, 49, of De Soto, the founder of the Jeffco Shop with a Cop organization, has been ordered to repay more than $24,800 she stole from charitable efforts she spearheaded, Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced.
McMunn pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Feb. 9) to three counts of receiving stolen property, two of them class C felonies and one a class D felony, as well as to unlawful merchandising practices, also a class D felony, court documents show.
Jefferson County Div. 4 Circuit Judge Brenda Stacey ordered McMunn to repay $24,886.07 she stole from the Jeffco Shop with a Cop program and a charitable fund to benefit wounded Ballwin Police officer Michael Flamion.
McMunn also was sentenced to four years in prison, but Stacey suspended the execution of the sentence and placed McMunn on five years’ probation, according to court records.
“Several of our detectives did an excellent job preparing this case for prosecution,” Marshak said. “In addition, much of the success was attributed to the comprehensive financial analysis by one of our crime analysts, Heather Missey. I’m proud of the work done by our Attorney General, and excited that with restitution more kids will be able to Shop with a Cop.”
The charges were filed with the Jefferson County Circuit Court, but Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanksi said the case was turned over to the Attorney General’s Office “because they have more resources to prosecute the case.”
Jeffco Shop with a Cop was founded in August 2016 to provide local children in need with the opportunity to go Christmas shopping with an officer, the organization’s board president, Jessica Griffaw, said in a written statement when McMunn was charged with the crimes in 2019.
Flamion was paralyzed from the neck down after being shot during a traffic stop in July 2016 while working for the Ballwin Police Department. He started his career with the De Soto Police Department in 2007.
“Stealing from law enforcement, including officer Michael Flamion, who put his life on the line in the line of duty, is beyond the pale,” Schmitt said in a press release. “I’m grateful for the work that Sheriff Dave Marshak and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office did to investigate this case, and I’m pleased that my office was able to hold McMunn accountable for her actions.”
Between August 2016 and November 2017, McMunn used funds from the Jeffco Shop with a Cop program, as well as funds from a charitable fund to benefit Flamion for her own personal use, according to the probable-cause statement in the case.
The Missouri Attorney General Office said in a written statement that McMunn used $18,398.07 from the Shop with a Cop program for personal purchases, and she used $6,498 collected to help Flamion for her personal purchases.
McMunn had organized T-shirt sales and advertised the money would benefit Flamion, the probable-cause statement said.
In 2019, Griffaw wrote in a statement that McMunn’s mishandling of funds was discovered in early 2018, when the Shop with a Cop program changed the financial institution that handled its funds.
“It was discovered during this changeover procedure that there were irregularities with the finances,” Griffaw said. “We immediately took this information and turned it over to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s (Office) for investigation.”
After the discovery of financial misdeeds, Griffaw said the organization implemented stricter financial safeguards and now requires two people to withdraw funds from the organization’s account. In addition, the organization’s balances are reviewed by three people.
“We are saddened to learn that a former board member may have taken a portion of the donations that were intended to be used to help vulnerable children and their families,” Griffaw said when charges were filed in 2019.
She also said the organization will continue to work “to make Christmas a little brighter for those who need it the most and be ever vigilant that all donations are used for the purposes for which intended.”