Published: September 17, 2008 10:24 pm         

Woman admits stealing more than $40,000 from father

A 62-year-old Crab Orchard woman appeared Wednesday before Raleigh County Circuit Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick and admitted to stealing more than $40,000 from her father over a seven-year period.

Betty Louise Earles received a one-to-10-year suspended sentence with five years’ probation after admitting to taking the money from 1999 to 2006 while she served as her father’s power of attorney.

Assistant prosecutor Tom MacAulay said Earles purchased $26,991 in merchandise on eight different credit accounts in her father’s name and also took $16,148.30 from his United Bank checking account.

Earles’ attorney, Mingo Winters, said his client took full responsibility for her actions and was “ready to move on and looks forward to putting this chapter behind her.”

Kirkpatrick ordered Earles to pay restitution of $43,139.30 as a condition of her probation.

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Nicole Bailey, 25, of Oceana, pleaded guilty to acquiring money or goods in excess of $1,000 by false pretenses.

Bailey, who admitted to writing a check from a closed account for $1,588.94 to Priddy’s Ace Hardware, was sentenced to one to 10 years in prison.

That sentence will run concurrently with a one-to-10-year sentence Bailey is currently serving for a forgery and uttering conviction in Wyoming County.

Bailey told Kirkpatrick she was addicted to OxyContin at the time she committed her crimes. Since being incarcerated, however, she told the judge she had become a “different person.” She maintains a job in prison, attends drug classes and realizes she can live her life “a different way.”

Kirkpatrick wished Bailey, who is eligible for parole, luck in her recovery.

“You’ll still be a young woman when you’re released from prison,” he told her. “(I hope you’ll) return to being a good mother and a good citizen.”

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Also Wednesday, Judge Robert Burnside accepted a plea of guilty to child neglect creating substantial risk for injury from 23-year-old Stephanie Dillon of Beckley.

Dillon’s plea stemmed from an April 14, 2007, incident during which, assistant prosecutor Andy Demlich said, she and her sister left her young daughter and nephew at home alone while they ran errands. When Mabscott police arrived at the apartment, after receiving a tip, the officer found the door ajar and both children inside.

Demlich said the stove was turned on for heat and a bag of sleeping pills was in the bedroom, both accessible to the children.

Dillon said it was the first time she had ever left her daughter alone and only did so because her sister promised a neighbor was coming over to watch the children.

Dillon will be sentenced Oct. 27.

— E-mail: mjames @register-herald.com