Trial Begins For Woman Accused Of Hoarding Donated Toys meant for Foster children

Virginia Kelly
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Trial Begins For Woman Accused Of Hoarding Donated Toys

Virginia Kelly, 75, Accused Of Grand Theft, Embezzlement

POSTED: 4:10 am PDT June 18, 2010
UPDATED: 7:37 am PDT June 18, 2010

SAN DIEGO -- Opening statements are scheduled Friday in the trial of a San Ysidro woman accused of hoarding thousand of toys donated as Christmas gifts to San Diego-area children.
Virginia Prieto Kelly, 75, faces four years in state prison if convicted of grand theft and embezzlement charges.
Her attorney has said Kelly, the president of the Latino Foster Parents Association, may have been overwhelmed by the quantity of toys, but that she didn't intend to profit from the gifts.

Investigators testified during a preliminary hearing last year that they found thousands of new, unopened toys, with an estimated value of $200,000, at three South Bay locations.
The gifts came from holiday drives conducted by Marine Toys for Tots, the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation and similar groups so foster children could receive Christmas presents, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Judge Margie Woods -- who presided over the preliminary hearing -- said Kelly was more of a "middle person" who kept an inordinate amount of the toys, which was not consented to by Toys for Tots.
A D.A.'s investigator said he watched as Kelly and others loaded boxes and large bags from her home into cars, which he then followed to a storage facility in Chula Vista.
Two weeks later, the investigator served a search warrant on the storage unit and found nearly 2,000 toys. Even more toys were found in other locations, the investigator testified.
When interviewed, Kelly said she planned to distribute the presents, her attorney said.

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