On Sept. 8, Melissa Nichols was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 90 days suspended on a charge of petit theft. The case arose when Nichols, who is a certified nurse’s assistant was assisting Patricia Jensen.
In the Amended Information (charging document) filed with the court, Boundary County Prosecutor, Jack Douglas, charged Nichols with having wrongfully obtaining a credit card from Patricia Jensen and intending to take the property of another. Nichols had originally been charged with felony grand theft, but Douglas said that he had to amend the charge down on the eve of trial because he did not feel there was enough evidence to sustain a felony in front of a 12-person jury.
“I think part of the job of professionalism is using our common sense and experience to know when to hold the line and when to fall back to a position we can sustain,” Douglas explained. “We certainly believed in the merits of this case, but I didn’t believe we could present a strong felony case. By offering petit theft, it allowed us to bring a successful close to this ugly incident and obtain a reasonable level of restitution to the victim, which ended up being $1,300, as agreed in open court at the sentencing.
After the hearing, Douglas said he was impressed with the thorough and fair job done by District Court Judge Steve Verby. Douglas said he also was grateful for the investigation done by Sheriff’s Office Investigator Mike Naumann. Douglas said, “I know that Mike worked hard on a difficult case, and this office appreciates that kind of effort.”
For the record: Verby sentenced Nichols to – Pay $1300 in restitution (as the parties agreed): Serve 90 days of local jail confinement out of the 180 days she was sentenced to: Be subject to a 2-year supervised probation: Pay a $200 fine and court costs: Pay back to Boundary County the sum of $300 for some of the cost associated with her use of the Boundary County Public Defender.
Douglas said it was a fairly stiff sentence considering that Nichols had no prior criminal record. He also said that paramount to him were two main objectives: First, obtaining some restitution for the victim, and two, sending a message to Nichols and others, that theft is a serious crime in this county.
“We hope this case and its final result sends the appropriate message to people not to prey on others. I hope it also sends a message that we are serious about trying to obtain restitution for victims.”