On March 28, 2017, an Ascension Parish Jury found Melba Irvin of 15037 Beau Jon Ave. Prairieville, LA., age 54, guilty of Theft of Assets of an Aged or Disabled Person. Irvin was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Phil Maples, and presiding over this matter was the Honorable Judge Tomas Kliebert. This guilty verdict stems after Irvin was accused of stealing money from a now 91 year old female. 

          On February 28, 2015, an elderly female traveled to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office to file a complaint after noticing money was fraudulently withdrawn from her bank account. In July of 2014, a female subject identified as Melba Irvin, contacted the victim in this matter who she had known all of her life to borrow money to pay attorney fees for her sickly mother. The elderly female agreed to loan Irvin some money and wrote 2 checks to cash totaling an excess of $4,000.00. Upon receiving these checks and cashing them, Irvin began taking checks from the victim without her permission, filling them out, and cashing them. At one point, Irvin made the elderly female victim believe that she was paying her back, but was only reimbursing the victim with her own money. Through a thorough investigation, detectives learned that Irvin had stolen approximately $34,450 from the victim between July and December of 2014. Irvin was subsequently arrested and booked into the Ascension Parish Jail. 

          Upon the jury’s 1 hour deliberation and guilty verdict, Judge Kliebert ordered that sentencing be deferred to a later date pending a Pre-Sentence Investigation. Irvin faces up to 10 years in prison and $3,000.00 in fines. Sentencing is tentatively set for June 26, 2017.