Over six years after he was indicted on charges of stealing thousands of dollars from the city, Chattanooga's former Neighborhood Services administrator Kenardo Curry must wait another month for his day in court.
Curry's case was set for trial before Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern on Tuesday, but it was passed to Oct. 23.
According to city internal auditor Stan Sewell’s findings, Curry used city funds to cover a variety of personal expenses starting as early as 2003.
In June 2006 a Hamilton County grand jury indicted Curry on eight felony counts of theft totaling more than $24,000 and one count each of fraudulent use of a credit card and official misconduct.
According to court documents, the former city official used a city credit card without authorization to purchase personal gifts.
He also is accused of authorizing $10,000 in city funds to be used for maintenance and purchase of furniture for a local church.
Further, in 2005 Curry allegedly authorized more than $1,000 of city money to fund a private real estate venture, according to court documents.
Originally represented by attorney Lee Davis, in January 2007 Curry successfully petitioned the court to appoint an attorney for him because he could no longer afford to pay one. His job as a Walmart manager, he swore in court documents, paid less than $9 per hours and his total income did not even cover the cost of his mortgage.
From then until April 2008, Curry was represented by the public defender’s office - which also was appointed to provide legal services for a witness in the Curry case, a possible conflict of interest.
In 2009, responding to a petition from the public defender, Judge Stern appointed defense attorney Dan Ripper to represent the former city official.