COLORADO COMPUTER STOLEN AT CHURCHJournal Advocate - LocalHalfway house eyed in church theft deal

By Bruce Schuknecht Journal-Advocate staff writer,

STERLING - A former bookkeeper who offered to plead guilty to stealing a $1,400 church computer may not face any prison time.
While possible penalties include six years of confinement and three years of mandatory parole, those sentencing choices for Debbra Jo Smith, 40, seem remote because prosecutors have recommended community corrections. They opposed the lesser penalty of probation for Smith whose proposed plea deal would drop two other felonies for theft and forgery. The First Presbyterian Church accused her of stealing $180,000 over her four years of employment. Attorneys on both sides also agreed to allow her to make restitution for the missing money, court files say.

During recent proceedings, government lawyers asked for Smith's referral to housing with community corrections, a half step between probation and incarceration at Department of Corrections. Prosecutors were quoted saying probation was inappropriate for Smith, according to court files, that also say church leaders asked only they get back their money.

"Specifically we request restitution in the amount of our loss," a church letter to Logan County District Court said.

Today, a state probation department report was expected to decide Smith's suitability for diversion from prison to community corrections. That action assumes the court accepts her plea bargain in about two weeks, when she returns for sentencing.

A judge is expected to reconsider the terms, which provide for dismissing two felonies in exchange for her guilty plea to stealing a Dell computer in August of 2004. The other two charges allege theft and check forgery that spanned four years, which the church reported to Sterling police last November.

John Draxler, a probation supervisor, confirmed the court ordered a sentencing screening for Smith, and probation agent Cynthia Stieb would be submitting the report to members of community corrections.

Every two weeks they examine requests for about six to 10 candidates, both men and women, for potential assignment to 22 residential correction facilities around the state, he explained. Four of these programs are designed for women, the agency said, with four more for treatment programs.

Screeners consider a dozen items when deciding suitability, Draxler said, including a candidate's criminal history and the severity of the alleged offense. Others include substance abuse, mental health issues and also employability and family ties.

According to Smith's case files, she had blamed drinking problems in her household, mounting debt and a fear losing her home for her criminal problems.

If a judge accepts the plea deal and deems her acceptable for placement outside prison, Draxler said the nearest women's facility is in Greeley.

Sterling has a contract facility called Advantage Treatment Center, near the local prison, that houses only men. The center houses about 30 men right now, he noted.

Aside from diverting would-be inmates convicted of lesser offenses, according to a fact sheet for community corrections, state corrections boards also use its services for transitioning inmates to parole. Generally those in transition check out for work daily and then return at night for housing and for treatment like counseling.

"Offenders placed in community corrections are required to work and pay for their room and board, court costs, treatment programs fines, and restitution," the fact sheet says.

When Smith returns to court Nov. 3, a judge will consider her plea deal in which she acknowledged the possibility of a $500,000 fine, in addition to the $180,000 restitution.

If the court finds aggravation, it could impose a 12-year prison term for the lesser theft count, the deal says.

But such severity seems a long shot, court papers suggest, because the church asked only for its money.

However, documents said, financial consultants doubted Smith could pay back the $180,000 because her new job at a local vision clinic only pays about $8 an hour.

But there's a savings for community corrections.

Average daily cost for confining a prison inmate is about $72, versus $35 a day for alternative housing.