By JIM BUTLER

A 28-year employee of the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office has been charged with theft of more than $25,000 and malfeasance in office.

Kimberly Beebe Ryder, 46, who joined the department shortly after graduation from Northwood High in 1995, is accused of taking non-public funds from an account she managed.

She faces, if convicted, up to 5 years imprisonment with or without hard labor, a fine of up to $5,000 or both. Restitution can also be ordered.

Ryder, of Boyce, has been fired by Sheriff Mark Wood, a news release states.

Among her duties was oversight of an account to which employees can make voluntary payroll deductions of $1 per pay period to pay for such things as funeral sprays, emergency assistance, etc.

The department has about 300 employees. The release does not note how many are contributors to the Family Club fund.

Nor does it refer to the accused’s apparent family connections in the department, an obviously uncomfortable aspect of the investigation and subsequent charges.

According to community sources, Ryder’s husband is a line deputy, her father a department supervisor and an uncle a task force commander.

The department statement did not indicate how long Ryder has handled the account. It said the arrest came after investigation of information brought to the department’s attention at an unspecified time.

Ryder was booked at 9:09 a.m. Tuesday and released on $2,000 bail at 9:50 a.m.