A Roan Mountain woman accused of embezzling more than $300,000 from a local attorney’s office will stand trial in the case in December.

Emilee E. Howard, 31, of 108 Roby Miller Road, Roan Mountain, appeared in Carter County Criminal Court Friday before Judge Stacy Street. Howard faces charges of one count of theft over $250,000; two counts of theft over $10,000; and one count of theft over $1,000.

During her court appearance on Friday, Howard’s attorney Gene Scott asked Street to grant the defense another continuance in the case, citing a desire to try to reach an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office. If the agreement is not reached, Scott said the matter could be set for trial.

Street said he would set the case for trial and if an agreement is reached the case could be brought up before then for resolution. Street scheduled the case against Howard to go to trial on Dec. 13 and 14 with Dec. 15 being available as an overflow day if necessary.

No motions have been filed in the case by either the defense or the District Attorney’s Office.

The charges against Howard stem from an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation along with assistance from the Elizabethton Police Department. The two agencies began the investigation following a request from District Attorney General Tony Clark.

During the investigation, the TBI said its agents discovered that Howard, who was an administrative assistant for Elizabethton attorney David Crockett, was responsible for stealing more than $300,000 from the law office over a period of five years beginning in 2010. She is no longer an employee of Crockett’s law firm.

According to the indictments against Howard handed down by a Carter County Grand Jury, Howard is accused of taking more than $250,000 out of an account at a local credit union belonging to Crockett and also withdrawing more than $10,000 from one of Crockett’s accounts at another area bank. The indictment further alleges that Howard made unauthorized charges to two credit cards belonging to Crockett — more than $10,000 on one card and more than $1,000 on the second.

The Grand Jury handed down the indictments against Howard on Sept. 1, 2016. The bond in the case was initially set at $50,000 but on Sept. 6 Street signed an agreed order to reduce the bond to $10,000, which was also signed by Scott and Clark.

Agents of the TBI arrested Howard on Sept. 7, and she was released from custody that same day after posting the $10,000 bond.