The owner of Darrell’s Diner is on the witness list in the case of a Village of Dunedin woman charged with pocketing more than $15,000 at the eatery in The Villages
Paula Jean Petras, 46, who lives at 1372 Zest Ave., is facing a felony charge of grand theft following her arrest in April by Wildwood police.
Petras worked as a waitress at Darrell’s Diner at Pinellas Plaza, where over a period of several months she pocketed $15,092, according to the arrest report.
The list of potential witnesses includes Lawrence Breech of Ocala, who is the owner of the chain of Darrell’s Diner restaurants in the area. It also includes Edward Dunn, the manager at the Pinellas Plaza restaurant where Petras worked.
Dunn told police that waitresses collect cash and credit sales throughout the day and settle up with the computer at the end of their shift. Petras had been given the power to override transactions. The was done primarily if a customer complained about the quality of a meal.
Dunn said that when Petras would clear her sales at the end of the day she would only report credit sales and put all of the cash sales in her pocket. Petras was voiding transactions up to 12 times a day totaling approximately $150 to $175 dollars each day.
The situation came to light after another employee witnessed Petras void a transaction in which cash was paid for a breakfast and the amount of sale was reset to zero, even though cash was paid for the items purchased.
Petras, in an interview at the Wildwood Police Station, said she was not guilty. She said the transactions were not intentional but were a “mistake.”
She was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $2,000 bond.
Petras, who previously went by Paula Ayers, was arrested in 2017 after allegedly filing a false police report in which she had claimed she was the victim of a sexual battery. She later escaped prosecution in the case.
In 2011, she was convicted on a charge of driving under the influence and later served time in jail after violating her probation in that case.