City court clerk manager Shenile Ward found not guilty of misreporting to state
Shenile Ward, an officer manager at the Jackson City Court Clerk's office, has been found not guilty on all charges after being indicted for allegedly misreporting information to the state. At the time of the incident, Ward was a deputy clerk.
Ward is a single mother who prides herself and children to always be the best, she said.
A product of the Jackson Madison County School System, she graduated from Northside High School and obtained her bachelor's degree from Lane College in Jackson.
In June 2020, she was indicted by a Madison County grand jury on two counts of forgery and two counts of official misconduct.
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"I was baffled," Ward stated. "I thought I was being pranked when they came to arrest me. I hadn't forged anything nor taken any money. I found out everything in detail when it was plastered in the news."
From 2018, Ward recalled a conversation with Kathy Blount and Terry Richardson, who both inquired some information about an error. She heard about the error no more until her June arrest in 2020. After months of questioning within the department, it was deemed this was an error but an investigation was opened.
For the past two years, Ward's life has been turned upside down and an inconvenience for her and her family, she said.
She had two plea offers to accept and end the case. One offer was to receive four felonies and a diversion. The second offer was to receive four misdemeanors and a diversion and also changing the forgery charge to tampering with government records.
"After they offered me the plea deals, I said no," Ward said. "I said let's take it to trial because I am innocent."
Ward said her family was affected by the case, explaining she had to assure her children that everything was fine. During the case, she was prepared to close on a house, but lost it because she had been out of work.
She also explained the stress of the case caused mental and physical health issues.
Before working with the city, she worked at a bank and gave seven years of service to the city.
After being found not guilty, Ward still deals with the consequences as if she were guilty, she said.
Ward has not heard from the city about returning to work.
Lynn Henning, city human resource director sent a letter to her in August 2020, stating that Ward had been placed on administrative suspension without pay pending the outcome of the indictment.
"I never received a call from them nor had a meeting with them, concerning the suspension," Ward stated. "I only received a letter."
A representative from the human resources office was not available for comment or to provide any other information as of press time.
Katrina Smith is the education reporter at The Jackson Sun. Send those story ideas to kmsmith@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Shenille Ward, City Court Clerk manager, not guilty of misreporting
