Clerk Accused Of Embezzling $100K From Pine Cove Employer

PINE COVE, CA — A Pine Cove store clerk suspected of stealing upwards of $100,000 from his workplace was behind bars Monday.

Vincent Daniel Gillman, 51, was arrested last week and booked into the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on suspicion of burglary and embezzlement. He's being held in lieu of $85,000 bail.

According to Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Ken Reichle, investigators were alerted earlier this month to suspected thievery at the Pine Cove Market at 23235 Highway 243, just north of Idyllwild, where "an abnormally large of money" had turned up missing from the till, bewildering the proprietors.

Detectives from the sheriff's Hemet Station began examining business records and collecting other evidence that pointed to Gillman as the alleged source of the missing funds.

Riechle said it was determined that the suspect "had been stealing cash from the register and the ATM machine on a routine basis."

"It is believed Gillman embezzled over $100,000 in an eight-month period," Reichle said.

The suspect was arrested without a struggle at his workplace Thursday night.

If Gillman does not post bail, felony charges are likely to be filed against him Tuesday.

Gillman has no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.

— By City News Service / Image via Riverside County Sheriff's Department