By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 24-year-old former employee of a liquor and wine store at the Twin City Town Center pleaded guilty to stealing more than $20,000 from her workplace and was sentenced to jail.
Amberly M. Morehead, from Chehalis, had never been convicted of a crime before.
“She knows she put herself in a poor position,” her lawyer David Brown told the judge. “She knows she stole and it was wrong.”
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Bohm told the judge the standard sentence, because there was no criminal history, was zero to 90 days in jail. Bohm recommended Morehead be locked up for 45 days.
Brown asked if his client could serve her time on electronic home monitoring.
Judge James Lawler said no, during Wednesday’s hearing in Lewis County Superior Court.
Morehead was charged in September for the thefts that took place between last December and March. She told police she got behind on her bills, took money from work and intended to pay it back but kept getting further behind.
Morehead pleaded guilty as charged to first-degree theft. Lawler sentenced her to 30 days in jail.
Judge Lawler also ordered her to repay restitution of $24,457 to the Chehalis business’s insurance company, $500 to the business and $1,400 in other legal fees.
She was then taken into custody.
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For background, read “Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup – FROM THE COURTHOUSE” from Tuesday September 20, 2016, here [1]