April trial set for former Mapleton official Jeannie Bell

PROVO — The former finance controller of Mapleton accused of embezzling almost $50,000 from the city has been ordered held on $25,000 cash-only bail.

Fourth District Judge James Taylor set the bail Thursday and scheduled an April trial for Jeannie Bell, 48, who skipped her arraignment on the second-degree felony theft charge last month and fled to Las Vegas.

Her attorney, Douglas Baxter, told the judge her client had a bad reaction when she stopped taking an antidepressant. "She had a panic attack and took off," he said.

Bell did not even tell her family where she was going. Her husband reported her missing and law enforcement tracked her down at a casino on the Las Vegas strip. She was extradited back to Utah County this week.

Prosecutors say Bell used a city credit card to purchase stamps and gift cards for employee bonuses, then sold them on eBay.

— Paul Koepp