A former local Wal-Mart manager arrested for embezzlement has been formally charged in District Court.

Prosecutors charged James Richard Chappelle, 44, Lenexa, this week with three counts of felony theft and two counts of misdemeanor theft.

He made his first appearance Friday in District Court and demanded a jury trial, according to court records.

Chappelle was arrested and released on bond late last month after the store reported nearly $35,000 had been stolen internally. The money was discovered missing during an audit, police said at the time.

In recent years, Chappelle helped oversee the expansion of the Wal-Mart store, at 3300 Iowa, into a Supercenter.