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News brief: K-Mart theft case revived by appeals judges

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Lewis County prosecutors won their appeal of the dismissal of a case by a local judge who concluded gift cards stolen by an employee from K-Mart did not meet the definition of “access devices.”

Angel R.M. Nelson was charged in Lewis County Superior Court in 2014 with second-degree theft of an access device and second-degree possession of a stolen access device. Surveillance video allegedly showed her retrieve empty gift cards three times and add funds to them without adding cash to her register, according to background information in the opinion issued this week by the state Court of Appeals.

At a pre-trial hearing, the judge granted a defense motion, ruling that as a matter of law, a gift card is not an access device, according to the document.

Reviewing in the light most favorable to the state and looking to the statute’s plain language, the three-member panel of justices found the state was correct. The justices said a gift card is an “access device.” The opinion was issued on Tuesday.

They remanded the case for further proceedings.