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Polk County School District employee arrested for stealing from co-worker

Incident allegedly caught on surveillance video
Posted at 6:03 PM, Sep 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-19 00:15:34-04

A Polk County School District employee is in hot water.  She is accused of stealing money from a co-worker.  And one of her alleged crimes was caught on camera.

Both the suspect and victim are employed at the Polk County School District's Learning Services building at the Bartow Airport.  

Deputies say 47-year-old Fontello Joboham was caught on camera rifling through a co-worker's desk drawer, taking out her purse, and stealing money from inside.  

The victim decided to set up a surveillance system on her work laptop after having money from her purse go missing twice earlier this month.  The first time, the victim had a bank envelope with $1,000 in rent money tucked in a front zipper pouch.  When she went to leave for the day, she noticed the cash was gone.  A week later, she had $72 tucked in the same pocket of her hand bag, and later noticed it was also missing.  That's when she decided to set a trap, hoping to catch the suspect red-handed.  This week, she put $8 in her purse, and again tucked it in her desk drawer.  While the victim was at a meeting, the surveillance system caught the suspect removing cash from inside the purse.  

All three incidents were reported to the Polk Co. Sheriff's Office, which arrested Joboham Friday.  She's charged with one count of grand theft.  

The Polk Co. School District says it is aware of the arrest.  Joboham has been put on paid administrative leave.  An internal investigation into the incidents is ongoing.  

Records show Joboham was also arrested for grand theft in March 2015 in Winter Haven.