A former Home Depot employee on the lam for seven years after being arrested with a co-worker for fraudulent schemes against the Sierra Vista store will find out next month whether she must stand trial or if there is a chance the case could be dropped.
Danielle Nannette Debose was arrested in February 2010 along with Terence Malicay on charges involving theft from their employer. Prosecution of the case was suspended for two years when Debose, now 34, was accepted into a diversion program offered by the Cochise County Attorney’s Office.
Diversion allows for criminal charges to be dismissed if a low-level defendant successfully completes the program, which can include payment of restitution.
In August 2012, a Cochise County judge extended Debose’s diversion period for another two years at the request of the prosecutor. But then in 2013 the county attorney’s office filed a motion to resume prosecution because Debose had not contacted Adult Diversion “in several months.”
“Since (August 2012) the defendant failed to comply with the terms of diversion by, failing to maintain a valid contact number, failing to pay the required diversion fees, failing to pay her restitution obligation and failing to report to the diversion program as directed,” the motion states.
An arrest warrant issued for Debose in October 2013 listed her last known address as Sahuarita. However, the warrant was not executed over the next seven years because it was restricted to Arizona law enforcement agencies, and Debose had moved out of state.
The case came before a Cochise County judge on Oct. 26, 2020 when Debose participated in a hearing by phone from Oregon in an attempt to quash the warrant. Judge Timothy Dickerson granted the request without requiring Debose to return to Arizona.
During a Nov. 30 pretrial conference, which Debose again “attended” by phone, her defense attorney revealed he intended to ask the Adult Diversion Department about suspending the prosecution nonce again. Dickerson set a status conference for Dec. 14, but the attorney and the prosecutor were not prepared at that time to set a trial date.
Debose is now ordered to “appear” via telephone for a Jan. 11, 2021 review hearing. Deputy County Attorney Lori Zucco told Arizona Daily Independent that if the case moves forward to trial then any statements or admissions Debose made between 2010 and 2013 can be introduced as evidence.
Debose’s alleged accomplice in the Home Depot thefts was Terence Malicay. He served a 1.5-year prison term in connection to the 2010 theft case. He was also sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for a July 2010 assault, and is currently serving a 11-year prison term for a June 2018 robbery and aggravated assault incident out of Maricopa County.
Public records show Malicay is the subject of a U.S. Marshals Service detainer which will be triggered upon his release from prison.