GULF SHORES, Ala. — A 44-year-old woman who held a position in the City of Gulf Shores Accounting Department — a branch of city government charged with answering questions about the financial status of the city — will be answering questions in connection with charges that she allegedly stole from her former employer.

Charity Hanson Talbot of Elberta, former senior account clerk for Gulf Shores, was booked into the Baldwin County Corrections Center on Oct. 11 and charged with felony counts of second-degree theft of property and illegal possession of a credit or debit card.

Each of the charges carry a $5,000 bond. The Correction Center Web site notes that Talbot was released after posting a $5,000 bond.

Second-degree theft of property is a Class C felony punishable by not more than 10 years in jail or less than one year, one day. Parameters under second-degree theft of property are thefts of more than $500 up to $2,500.

The Alabama Criminal Code states that the theft of a credit/debit card, “regardless of value,” constitutes second-degree theft of property.