A former Alabama sheriff will avoid going to prison after pleading guilty to failing to file tax returns.
News outlets report a federal magistrate sentenced former Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin to two years on probation during a hearing in Huntsville on Thursday.
The 55-year-old Franklin also must perform 300 hours of community service.
Franklin faced a maximum sentence of six months in prison for failing to file tax returns for 2015. That same year she had taken $160,000 from a jail food account and provided it to a car lot.
Franklin and her lawyer had argued the money was a loan, but a judge concluded it was personal income.
Franklin didnāt seek re-election to a third term last year. She told reporters the episode is behind her now.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
