Valley Center couple bound over for trial in alleged theft from cheerleading squad

A Valley Center couple accused of stealing thousands from a youth cheerleading squad have been bound over for trial in May.

Tabitha Bates, former director of the privately run Valley Center Junior Hornets Cheerleading program, and her boyfriend, Russell Hartlein, waived their preliminary hearings this week and were set for jury trial May 11. Each also pleaded not guilty to a single count of felony theft before Sedgwick County District Court Judge Joe Kisner.

The charges stem from complaints by parents who say last year they gave Bates more than $20,000 for sign-up fees and to buy uniforms, shoes and other cheerleading equipment but never received some items.

According to a affidavit used to justify the couple’s arrest in November and subsequent criminal charging, Bates in an interview told a Valley Center police detective that she spent nearly $600 on cheerleading items and $5,000 for a fundraising payment but also “had financial issues and used some of the money to pay for miscellaneous things such as her personal bills, gas, food” and other needs.

Hartlein told the detective he used a debit card linked to an account the cheerleaders’ money was kept in to pay for gas and food, according to the document.

Valley Center Police Chief Mark Hephner in January said nearly 70 people lost between $18,000 and $21,000. The balance of a bank account set up for squad dwindled from $18,985.44 to $5.98 between April and October, according to the affidavit.

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 6:40 AM with the headline "Valley Center couple bound over for trial in alleged theft from cheerleading squad."