A city of Palm Coast animal control officer was arrested Friday, accused of of using her city-issued credit card to pay a $386.64 veterinary bill for her own dog, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
Chelsie Nichole Willis, 36, of Fort McCoy, is charged with fraudulent use of a credit card over $100, a third-degree felony.
Willis brought her dog, Layla, to East Coast Animal Hospital for an appointment Sept. 18, according to the sheriff’s office. While there, she used her city card to pay charges on the city’s account with the clinic, then used that same card to pay the charges on her personal account, detectives said.
She returned to the clinic Oct. 6 and asked staff to move Layla’s account from her personal account to the city’s account, witnesses told the sheriff’s office. Staff refused and told her the change would violate company policy and be considered falsifying records.
Clinic employees alerted city administrators, who contacted the sheriff’s office. Deputies opened an investigation Oct. 15, and detectives arrested Willis the next day. Records from the clinic and the city confirmed the unauthorized charge, the sheriff’s office said.
“This arrest was the result of a series of very poor decisions that evolved into an attempted cover-up. Public service is a privilege, not a personal piggy bank,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement. He also credited the clinic’s workers for reporting their concerns.
In a statement, Deputy City manager Jim MacFarlane called behavior disappointing and said it does not reflect the integrity and accountability the city expects of its employees.
Neither the sheriff’s office nor the city said whether Willis remains employed by the city.
Willis was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and released after posting $2,500 bond, jail records show. Court records did not list an attorney for Willis as of Friday evening, and she did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
