We have more information about the arrest of the Twentynine Palms Cemetery District’s general manager, who is accused of embezzlement. Last Thursday, January 2, a cemetery trustee called the Sheriff’s Department to report that a trustee had been contacted by its bank about fraudulent charges on the cemetery’s account. Stacey Lee, 50, of Twentynine Palms, is alleged to have used the cemetery’s credit/debit card to make $17,000 in miscellaneous purchases and ATM withdrawals since September 2019. The Twentynine Palms Cemetery District board of trustees met in a special meeting Sunday morning after which it fired Lee for cause. Tuesday morning, Deputy Wayne Greer went to Lee’s home in the 6600 block of Via Allegra with a search warrant and recovered several items belonging to the cemetery. Stacy Lee was arrested for investigation of embezzlement, booked into the Morongo Basin Jail, with her bail set at $50,000. This morning, cemetery trustees meet again in another special meeting to approve new policies concerning fraud, petty cash, and making a trustee a signatory on banking documents.
