White Star Theft Expands

Jesse Sexton. (The Herald/ Submitted Photo)

At least one culprit in an ongoing investigation involving stolen money from White Star Market has been arrested despite inconclusive evidence which was presented last week.

The investigation originated from an incident when White Start Market Owner Phil White asked the Sevier County Sheriff’s Department to investigate a claim that an employee named Sonny Cook had stolen money that was missing from the cash register. In the report, Officer Jimmy Huddleston concluded there was not enough evidence to either include or exclude Cook as a suspect.

Then a secondary complaint by White led to the investigation of another suspect.

Jesse Sexton, also an employee of White Star Market, admitted he had taken about $700 from the business to help pay for educational expenses at Johnson University March 11. However, White stated over a period of a few days his business has been short a total of $1,900.