LEWISTON — A local woman who is undergoing prolonged drug counseling pleaded guilty Thursday to charges stemming from a burglary in which jewelry was stolen from a local couple’s home.
Richelle Ramsey, 23, of 88 Bartlett St. appeared in 8th District Court, where she was given three fully suspended sentences for two counts of theft and a criminal trespass charge, all misdemeanors, related to the March 2015 incident.
Judge Susan Oram imposed consecutive sentences of 365 days for each of the three charges but suspended those sentences. Ramsey must serve three years of probation for those crimes.
Ramsey already is serving three years of probation related to other thefts, including thousands of dollars from Shrep’s Corner Store in Turner on Dec. 20 and 27, 2015. Prosecutors said she distracted a clerk at the front of the store where she had once worked while her then-boyfriend entered a locked back room with a card device and stole cash from a storage area. The total taken from the store was over $6,000. Surveillance camera footage captured the two engaged in the scheme, prosecutors said.
William Thomas Currier, 26, of 592 College St. pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts each of burglary and theft in that case. His sentence included roughly a year in jail.
Ramsey also pleaded guilty earlier this year to an October 2015 theft of construction tools, including an air compressor, a drill, nailer, chain saw and laser level from a Leeds home. The items were valued at over $1,000.
Thursday’s plea stemmed from the theft of jewelry valued at more than $2,000 from a Lewiston home. Ramsey was ordered to pay restitution, along with Currier.
Conditions of her six years of probation include no contact with the local couple whose jewelry she tried to sell, nor is she allowed to go to Shrep’s Corner Store in Turner. She cannot have contact with Currier except electronically through a third party to arrange child care for their 2-year-old son.
Ramsey’s attorney, Richard Charest, told Oram that his client recognized her drug problem early on and took action to get treatment months ago in an effort to work toward recovery.
cwilliams@sunjournal.com
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