Ames church bookkeeper arrested for theft

A Story City woman turned herself in to Ames police Thursday, wanted on warrants for stealing from the church where she kept the books. Ames police department commander Jim Robinson says the investigation began with a call from the church barely two blocks from the police station. They did an investigation into missing money at the Methodist church downtown on Kellogg Street, and discovered that around 138-thousand dollars has been misappropriated from the church over three years. Robinson says the money had been taken from February of 2000 through April of this year. 37-year-old Janine Lamb, the business manager for the church, is charged with first-degree theft, fraud and criminal conduct. Once the investigation was done, Commander Robinson says arrest warrants were issued. He says Lamb committed the theft by writing unauthorized checks on the church’s account and depositing those checks into her own account. The woman turned herself in Thursday to Ames police and was booked, her bond set at 130-thousand dollars.