FORMER JURY COMMISSIONER CHARGED WITH STEALING $143,000

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. and Wicomico County State’s Attorney Davis Ruark announced today the indictment by the Wicomico County Grand Jury of Gay E. Hommel, 41, of Riverside Drive in Salisbury, on 152 counts of Theft, Fraudulent Misappropriation, Perjury and Tax Fraud during the time that she served as the Jury Commissioner for Wicomico County. Specifically, the indictment charges Ms. Hommel with stealing and misappropriating over $143,000 between May 1999 and July 2003 from the jury commissioner bank account, and filing false tax returns for those same years. Her arrest warrant was served on Saturday.

The maximum sentence on each of the felony theft counts (of which there are 145) is15 years incarceration and a $1,000 fine; the maximum for misdemeanor theft (one count) is 18 months; the maximum for fraudulent misappropriation (one count) is 5 years; and the maximum on each count of perjury and filing false tax returns (of which there are 5) is ten years. The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was referred to the Criminal Investigations Division of the Attorney General’s Office by the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office , and was investigated for CID by the Maryland State Police.

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