Demopolis police have arrested a local woman and charged her with stealing thousands of dollars from the Girls’ Dixie Youth Softball league.

Rosemary Stabler Fish, 43, of Demopolis, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with felony theft of property for allegedly stealing $8,000 from the softball league.

Det. Sgt. Tim Soronen, who investigated the case for more than a month, could offer few details about the case.

According to police, a warrant was signed by a Demopolis citizen last week and Fish was arrested after 8 a.m. on Tuesday. She has no previous criminal record, police reports say.

The Girls’ Dixie Youth Softball league, like other sports leagues, is not a city-organized group. Rather, parents in the leagues make up the boards and actually run the league.

Mark Pettus, head of the Demopolis Parks and Recreation Department, could not offer insight into the arrest of Fish. When the police investigation initially began, though, Pettus made it clear that the city’s only function with recreation leagues is allowing them use of the park and recreation fields.

While it is unclear from police reports how Fish allegedly took the $8,000 from the softball league or whether or not she has repaid the money, police said the theft occurred between January 2001 and February 2003.

If, indeed, $8,000 was stolen from the league, Pettus said that would have been enough to pay the umpires for an entire season.

In terms of revenue, leagues take in money through registration fees paid by the parents, sponsorships from local businesses, and a general fund established through the Parks and Recreation Department.

Upon arrest, Fish was given a bond of $3,500, according to an official at the Marengo County Courthouse in Linden. She is scheduled to go before a Marengo County Grand Jury on Nov. 17 &045;&045; the next time the grand jury meets. A grand jury hears evidence and determines whether or not to return an indictment on a suspect.

If charged with the Class B Felony, Fish could receive a sentence of anywhere from two to 20 years in prison, along with restitution.

This is the second case this year of alleged theft from a girls’ organization in Demopolis. In late April, a lawsuit was filed against two Marengo County women accused of stealing money from the Girl Scouts. In that suit, filed in Tuscaloosa, Johnella Jones of Demopolis, Jana Alston of Linden, and Debby Remmert of Tuscaloosa are accused of owning more than $6,000 in Girl Scout cookie money.