Portales man accused of embezzling

A Portales man employed by an armored-car service is accused of embezzling at least $240,000 from his employer, police said.

Scott Kirby, 22, turned himself in on Monday and was arrested, according to court documents. Kirby was employed by Respond Inc., an ATM and armored-car service company that services businesses in Portales and Clovis.

“We are still investigating to see if anybody else was involved,” Portales Police Capt. Lonnie Berry said on Wednesday. “We are also trying to find out exactly how much is missing.”

The unraveling of the incident can be traced back to Sunday when Charles Perez, a Portales police officer, created a police incident report regarding a missing person. Fawn Kirby, Scott Kirby’s wife, reported her husband missing, Berry said.

During Perez’ investigation, he discovered Kirby was employed by Respond Inc., according to the statement of probable cause.

Berry said police officers received a call from Federal Bureau of Investigation officials on Monday stating that banks were missing deposits from area businesses estimated in excess of $300,000.

Fawn Kirby called Portales police later that day and told them her husband was back home and wanted to turn himself in, according to Berry. Perez and an FBI agent went to the Kirby residence and picked him up.

Court records show Scott Kirby was found with $222.73 in cash; a black duffle bag with $242,120 in cash was found in the home. During an interview with police, Scott Kirby said the money was taken from businesses when he failed to make the deposits, court records show.

Officials with Respond Inc. could not be reached for comment.

Calls placed to the Kirby residence on Wednesday were not returned by press time.

Kirby was being held at the Roosevelt County Detention Center on $10,000 bond.