‘Humiliated’ Richland mother admits to taking money from cheer booster club
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Firehouse Elite vice president pleaded guilty to third-degree theft in 2025.
- She admitted transferring over $6,000 from the club and returned funds.
- Judge sentenced her to seven days jail, suspended 357 days, plus $700 fees.
A 46-year-old woman apologized for taking more than $6,000 from a Richland cheer program.
Rawni S. Morris fought back tears after pleading guilty to third-degree theft in Benton County Superior Court on Wednesday.
When the former vice-president of the Firehouse Elite booster club took the money, she felt like it was the only way to support her family. Her husband was self-employed and wasn’t making money at the time. But the impact to her and her family has been difficult.
“I feel humiliated and I’m sorry, which probably sounds silly,” she said.
Prosecutors and her defense attorney Nicholas Jones worked out an agreement where she pleaded guilty to the gross misdemeanor and was sentenced to serve seven days in jail.
The remaining 357 days of her sentence will remain suspended for the next two years, and will go away as long as she stays out of trouble with the law.
Morris returned the money shortly after the theft was discovered, but she will still need to pay $700 in fees. She is also barred from returning to the Firehouse Elite gym for the next two years.
While Morris said she felt taking the money was a necessity, Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge told Judge Diana Ruff that the money wasn’t spent on items needed for survival.
But in talking to victims, prosecutors believed this would allow them to move on.
They had previously told officials that the theft had damaged their organization’s reputation, court documents said.
Ruff agreed with the recommendation, saying that she appreciated that Morris admitted to her embarrassment. Public shaming is baked into the justice system, she said. The humiliation and impact on her family is likely to deter her from committing another crime.
Embezzlement
Morris was the registered agent for the Firehouse Elite booster club, which was formed in 2021. It supports students, teachers and parents of the Richland-based cheer program by raising funds, recruiting volunteers and conducting events, according to information from the state.
The club discovered problems when about $300 from a September 2024 raffle never made it into the club’s account.
This led the club to review the financial records, and officials found more than $6,300 had been transferred out of the account by Morris between October 2023 and August 2024, court documents said.
They also found two other times when Morris “loaned” money to herself. Court documents don’t say how much money she took out of the account.
When police talked to Morris, she admitted to taking money out of the account twice — once to cover travel expenses and the second time to support herself and her family because her husband, a real estate agent, had been struggling.
She insisted she repaid the money, but became nervous when the officer asked about the other amounts. She asked if she could just “put the money back,” and repeatedly claimed she’d intended to replace the funds, court documents said.
Morris later sent an email to the officer saying she paid the money back. Officials said she did repay the money.
Morris is a STEAM specialist at the Kiona-Benton City Elementary School, and made about $95,000 during the 23-24 school year, according to Washington state records.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 1:03 PM.