Long Beach, Mississippi church worker sentenced in theft

A 37-year-old woman with leukemia has been sentenced to one year under house arrest for embezzling nearly $156,000 from First Baptist Church of Long Beach. The Sun Herald reports Judge Lisa Dodson sentenced Michelle Calliham on Monday after she entered a guilty plea. Calliham became the church bookkeeper in the fall of 2006. Long Beach police arrested her on the embezzlement charge on Sept. 15, 2009. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Burrell said Calliham admitted spending the money on medical treatment and to support her family.But if the case had gone to trial, Burrell said prosecutors were prepared to present evidence showing Calliham also spent her ill-gotten gains on entertainment including vacations to Louisiana and Florida.