Former Buchanan Town Treasurer Sentenced to Prison - FOX 21/27 WFXR Roanoke/WWCW Lynchburg News, Weather

Former Buchanan Town Treasurer Sentenced to Prison

Thursday's sentencing of former Buchanan Treasurer Wanda Smith was full of emotion, with Smith repeatedly apologizing for stealing money from the town.

"I don't have a reason why I did what I did," Smith said when she took the stand.

But, despite the apologies, the defense spent the majority of the sentencing arguing that Smith only stole $45,000-$50,000.

Judge Michael Irvin sided with the Commonwealth, sentencing Smith to three years in prison and requiring her to pay $145,000 in restitution to Buchanan.

The sentence came as a relief to several people, including former Mayor Tom Middlecamp.

"It was a very just sentence," he said. "It shows that crime doesn't pay. You just can't say, 'I'm going to pay you back and be done with it.' You're going to have to pay the penalty."

Smith was technically sentenced to 24 years in prison, but the judge suspended the first 21 years of it.

"You're stealing taxpayer money," said Commonwealth Attorney Joel Branscomb after court. "It's so hard to treat that any other way than extremely seriously and I think the judge did a good job of trying to impress that."

Smith will have to begin paying restitution within six months, even though she'll still be in prison.

But this may not be the end of the court battles.

Buchanan has also filed a civil lawsuit against Smith, asking for more than $1 million in damages.