A woman accused in the burglary of a Murrayville business plead guilty in Morgan County Court this week.
22-year-old Talesha L. Castleberry of Roodhouse was arrested by Murrayville-Woodson Police on May 21st of last year in connection to a burglary at the Murrayville Fast Stop convenience store.
During the early morning hours of June 5th, 2020, the Fast Stop was broken into. Surveillance videos of the incident were made available to the public by Morgan Scott Cass Crime Stoppers at the time, in which two suspects were seen kicking in a window and making entry into the north side of the building.
According to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department’s report, the individuals made off with an undetermined amount of merchandise. In one in-store video, a thin-built female could be seen taking several packages of cigarettes from above the counter, while the other individual who was believed to be a female could be seen removing items from the store.
Castleberry was charged with burglary with intent to commit theft, a class 2 felony, and a class A misdemeanor theft charge. She plead guilty to the theft charge Tuesday in Morgan County Court. The felony burglary charge was dropped per the plea. The Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office agreed to the lesser sentence due to Castleberry’s lack of a large criminal history, and her cooperation in solving the case.
Castleberry was sentenced to serve two years probation and four days in the Morgan County Jail with credit for two days served. She was ordered to pay a $500.00 county fine plus fees and court costs, as well as $500.00 in restitution to the Murrayville Fast Stop.
The other suspect in the incident, Krissa N. Gernigin of Alton who turns 20 years old next week, was arrested in September of last year. She also is facing a charge of burglary in connection to the incident, and she also pleaded not guilty during her arraignment.
Gernigin is next due in Morgan County Court on May 4th for a pretrial hearing.