Thornton found guilty of theft from Okaloosa County

Sabra Thornton was found guilty Friday in Pensacola of six counts of theft.

After seven days of testimony, a six-member jury returned the verdict after nearly eight hours of deliberation that began Jan. 21. After recessing for the night, the panel resumed its discussion Friday morning and reached the verdict about 2 p.m.

Thornton is the estranged wife of Bruce Barnes, of St. George Island, who ran twice as a Republican, in 2004 and 2008, for Franklin County Sheriff.

“This is a great victory for the taxpayers of Okaloosa County and for all law enforcement officers who do their duty, serve the public and risk their lives every day,” prosecuting attorney Russ Edgar said following the decision.

Thornton spoke briefly to reporters outside the Escambia County Courthouse after the verdict. She declared her innocence and claimed that the public will eventually learn things “that didn’t come out at the trial.”

Thornton, who worked as chief of staff for former Okaloosa County Sheriff Charlie Morris, faces a minimum sentence of 25 months in prison and could be sentenced to as long as 61 years.

Although Edgar argued that she should be remanded to custody, Circuit Judge Linda Nobles allowed Thornton to be released on her own recognizance until sentencing.

A sentencing date will be determined March 17 or at a later date, depending on when a pre-sentencing investigation is completed.

Thornton was the third person in Morris’ administration to be convicted of theft, and was the first one found guilty on state charges.

Morris and his former administrative director, Teresa Adams, are serving federal prison sentences for fraud, theft and money laundering. They also face state charges of racketeering.

Morris, who testified at Thornton’s trial, is serving a 71-month prison term in Arkansas. However, Edgar confirmed Friday that he has remained in Florida while plea negotiations are under way.

Thornton was the only one of five Morris employees who wasn’t charged with racketeering - conspiring to carry on a criminal enterprise - and was never formally accused of participating in the employee bonus kickback scheme that led to Morris’ downfall.

She was charged with five counts of grand theft and one count of theft as the primary beneficiary of Morris’ theft of taxpayers’ money.

He used most of those funds to pay Thornton’s bills and buy her gifts. He gave her an $80,000 job that didn’t require her to work, prosecutors said, and equipped her with Sheriff’s Office equipment she wasn’t entitled to.

The six counts of theft against Thornton were:

• One count for a salary she didn’t work to earn;
• One count for an $8,400 lease payment buyout obtained from Morris;
• One count for $40,000 Morris gave her to pay off credit card debt;
• One count for use of Sheriff’s Office vehicles she wasn’t entitled to use;
• One count for use of a Sheriff’s Office fuel card she wasn’t entitled to use; and
• One count for use of firearms, a laptop computer and a cell phone she wasn’t entitled to use.

Her attorney, Mark Welton, called the verdict “completely unexpected.”

“I believe that Ms. Thornton handled it with grace and poise,” Welton said.

“It was an honor to represent Sabra Thornton,” added Brad Stewart, Welton’s co-counsel.

Welton said an appeal of the verdict will be discussed.

Trials for Morris, Adams and three others - former Chief Deputy Michael Coup, former Finance Director Sandra Norris and former Information Technology Specialist David Yacks - are scheduled to begin June 1. They all are charged with racketeering and face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Barnes testifies at trial

Barnes testified Jan. 25 that he’d met Thornton in 1981 and married her in 1986. She is 14 years younger than he is, he said.

The two have two children, share finances and live in the same home when both are in Tallahassee or at their second home on St. George Island, said Barnes, who is battling throat cancer.

“We have a great personal relationship,” he said. But he also testified that he and Thornton had not been romantically involved for many years.

Barnes told the court that he knew Mike McHargue, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement employee who has been identified as Thornton’s lover.

“Our estranged relationship came a long time before Mike McHargue came along,” Barnes testified.

Under Welton’s questioning, Barnes portrayed his wife as an intelligent person and qualified employee.

He said he was worried when, in March 2008, Thornton took a job with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. He said he didn’t think her job would have the same security as the position she was leaving at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A two-time candidate for sheriff in Franklin County, Barnes made it clear he doesn’t trust most of those holding the office. He said he’d only met Charlie Morris once, at a birthday dinner for his wife, and found him to be “arrogant” and “boisterous.”

Edgar pressed Barnes about his relationship to his wife. He asked if there were other “Mike McHargues” in her life. Barnes said he didn’t think so.

He testified he did not know if Thornton was living with McHargue when she was residing in Okaloosa County.