A former pastor and current Christian school staff member, Philip Brian Box, is facing charges for allegedly stealing $8,911.07 from the Alabama Coroner’s Association.
Box “immediately” decided to plead guilty to the charges.
Philip Brian Box Intends To Plead Guilty to Stealing $9,000 From Coroner’s Office
According to local news, law enforcement received a complaint stating that Box stole nearly $9,000 from April to September in 2022.
A former pastor of Elba Church of Christ, in Elba, Alabama, Box continued his career by becoming a church relations coordinator for Mount Dora Christian Academy in Mount Dora, Florida.
Between serving in these two roles, Box worked at the Coffee County coroner’s office.
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Box was appointed chief deputy coroner in 2011. He later ran for the elected office of coroner in 2018 but was unsuccessful.
Box was arrested on Jan. 11 and charged with “first-degree theft of property” after an internal audit of the association’s financial records. Morgan County Coroner Jeff Chunn told Advance Local that Box served as an “administrator/director to assist the officers of the association to carry out our business meetings and help with district training.”
“Immediately” pleading guilty has legal ramifications for Box. His attorney has already filed an intent to “plead guilty to First Degree Theft based upon criminal information,” reported WTVY. This legal tactic could help keep the case from going to a grand jury.
First-time offenders like Box also qualify for “pretrial diversion,” which will keep conviction from being added to a criminal record.