Earle’s former chief court clerk, Chiquita Maria Moore, has pleaded guilty to felony theft and been ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution to the city, closing out a case that began with a state audit flagging thousands of dollars in discrepancies involving court funds. Moore, of West Memphis, entered her plea to one count of theft of property greater than $5,000, a Class C felony, on December 2, 2025.
According to KAIT8, Second Judicial Circuit Judge Randy Philhours sentenced Moore to 96 months of probation and ordered her to pay the $24,000 restitution to the City of Earle. A separate charge of tampering with court records was nolle prossed as part of the case's resolution, the station reported.
The case traces back to a Legislative Audit report that found $23,671 in discrepancies in bank deposits and receipts from Earle's district court clerk's office between January 2023 and August 2024, according to the Arkansas Advocate. Auditors identified $11,935 in voided receipts whose validity “could not be substantiated,” per the outlet, along with $6,298 in receipts lacking adequate supporting documentation. The remaining $5,438 in receipts, the Advocate reported, “could not be traced to a bank deposit.”
From Audit Findings to Criminal Charges
The financial irregularities under review stretched across categories of court receipts, including voided transactions, insufficient paperwork and payments that never appeared in city bank deposits, according to a related WREG report on the audit. That same audit noted that law enforcement was already looking into the matters described in the findings.
Moore resigned from her position as Earle's district court clerk in August 2024, the Arkansas Advocate reported. Roughly six months later, the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division opened its own probe into the matter on February 12, 2025, at the request of the 2nd Judicial District prosecutor, according to FOX13 Memphis. State police ultimately arrested Moore and charged her with felony theft of property and tampering with a public record, according to the Arkansas Department of Public Safety.
Booking and Release
Following her arrest, Moore was booked into the Crittenden County Detention Center and released on her own recognizance, per a WREG report on the charges. Her age was reported differently across outlets — the Arkansas Advocate listed her as 41, while KAIT8 reported she was 42 and living in West Memphis.
The resolution of the case, with probation and restitution rather than incarceration, was detailed by Action News 5. Moore pleaded guilty and received the reported sentence, closing a case that spanned roughly a year and a half from the end of the audited period to her plea in district court.
