A former manager at a Brownwood eatery is serving jail time after night deposits disappeared earlier this year when she went on vacation.
Rhonda Renee Hodgson, 46, of Summerfield, is currently serving a one month sentence at the Sumter County Detention Center. She was sentenced last month after pleading no contest to two counts of grand theft.
She had been working as a shift manager at Scooples Ice Cream Parlor and Restaurant when she failed to make night deposits of $682.85 on May 27 and $932.21 on June 8, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
The owner of the restaurant repeatedly tried to contact Hodgson, who left town for a vacation. After repeated calls and texts, Hodgson finally sent an email, trying to explain what had happened.
“What I believe may have happened is that in my rush to leave town, I forgot and left it in my bag in my friend’s car. I am sure you are furious and I sincerely apologize and assure you that your money will be in the bank ASAP. Please believe I have been working on this throughout my weekend vacation. My phone isn’t getting service but I wanted to at least touch base with you so I figured I could at least email you. Please please believe me when I tell you I am sincerely sorry and I know that does not make the situation any better but its all I can say right now. Either way if the issues hasn’t been resolve and I am in fact responsible I am hoping its in my bag but either way I have made arrangements to pawn my car to make sure you get your money no matter what,” she wrote in an email to the restaurant’s owner.
A check in the amount of $932 from a Region’s Bank account showed up in the night deposit June 13 at Citizens First Bank at Pinellas Plaza.
Hodgson never returned a phone call from the Wildwood Police Department. An officer contacted the state attorney’s office to obtain a warrant for her arrest.
She is not the first Scooples manager to attempt to pocket a night deposit. In 2015, a manager was arrested after a $1,700 deposit went missing.
