Charles City woman pleads guilty to theft from restaurant

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City woman who was charged with stealing more than $12,500 from a local restaurant has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in the case.

Jacqueline A. Miller, age 53, had been arrested in January and charged with first-degree theft, a Class C felony, for stealing more than $12,500 from the Charles City Subway.

Miller filed a written plea of guilty to a charge of second-degree theft, a Class D felony, on Friday.

Miller had requested that sentencing be done at the plea hearing that had been scheduled for Friday, but the judge had not filed court documents as of Monday.

Floyd County Attorney Todd Prichard on Friday filed a motion to amend the charge against Milled from first-degree theft to second-degree theft, “contingent upon the defendant’s plea of guilty to the charge.”

As part of the plea agreement, in addition to the reduced charge, the prosecution agreed to “stay silent” on Miller’s request for a deferred judgment.

Under a deferred judgment the defendant pleads guilty, but the judge defers judgment and sentencing and sets up conditions such as probation that the defendant must meet. The judge retains the power to enter a judgment of guilty and impose a sentence if the deferment conditions are not met.

If the defendant successfully completes all the conditions, the judge will dismiss the case and seal the records, meaning the defendant’s public record will not show the charges or a conviction. The court maintains access to the records in case the defendant is charged with a criminal offense in the future.

Also as part of the plea agreement, Miller agreed, “Restitution is not limited to the statutory range applicable to a charge of Theft in the Second Degree and is expected to include amounts in excess of the statutory range of the charge subject of this plea agreement. I will be required to make payment of all restitution, court costs and fees.”

According to records in Floyd County District Court, Miller was employed at Subway and had been in charge of taking deposits to the bank on a regular basis.

“It was discovered that all of the cash sales for the month of October and part of November were missing,” the court record states. “When confronted by management, Jacqueline said she had the money and was going to deposit it and never did.”

The complaint alleged that Miller stole $12,509.95 in cash sales from the business.