North Texas Little League ex-president bought George Strait tickets with stolen money: DA

The former president of a North Texas Little League association has been sentenced to five years of probation for stealing about $40,000 from the group.

Eric Scott Fletcher used the debit card of the Decatur Baseball League to purchase items like two concert tickets to George Strait in Las Vegas for $1,307.06; rooms at a Holiday Inn in Corpus Christi for $575; a washer and dryer for over $470; James Avery jewelry for over $400; repairs on personal vehicles for over $270; nine concert tickets to the Mule Barn for over $220; and items from Victoria’s Secret for over $200, according to the Wise County Messenger.

Fletcher pleaded guilty last week in the 271st District Court in Decatur to theft of property between $30,000 and $150,000. The thefts occurred between 2016 and 2019, when Fletcher was president of the Decatur Baseball League, the Wise County District Attorney’s Office told the Messenger. Decatur is about 40 miles northwest of Fort Worth.

The Wise County Messenger reported that as part of the plea agreement Fletcher was sentenced to probation with deferred adjudication and required to pay the baseball league $28,000 in restitution.

“I think it was a crime of opportunity. He was the sole person who had access to it and just did it, and that’s unfortunate,” Wise County District Attorney James Stainton told the Wise County Messenger. “When you steal from little kids, that’s not OK.”

Stainton also said the five-year probation period was approved to allow the league to get its money back as soon as possible in larger payments.

The crime was discovered in 2019 when Decatur Baseball League officials found discrepancies in their banking transaction history, the Messenger reported.