A woman who passed 360 bad checks in and around Fargo might not spend a day in jail for the three-month spending spree.
Sarah Marie Percy, 27, pleaded guilty Thursday in Cass County District Court to passing more than $23,000 worth of checks on two closed accounts from October to mid-January.
Percy told Judge Frank Racek she got into financial trouble trying to pay bills after she lost her job, but court records show most of the checks went to clothing stores, restaurants and large retailers.
"These weren't necessities of life," Racek told Percy. "This was shopping."
Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Bud Myers recommended no jail time for Percy, partly because she is pregnant.
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Racek gave her a one-year suspended sentence and five years of supervised probation.
If Percy successfully completes the probation, the two felony counts on her record will become misdemeanors.
Percy, who faces prison time if she violates probation, must also pay restitution. The state has 30 days to determine that amount.
The state's recommendation -- five years of probation and a five-year suspended sentence -- would have permanently kept the felonies on Percy's record. Myers had also planned to include a 30-day jail stay in his recommendation, but withdrew the jail time with consideration of the pregnancy, he said.
Percy, who now lives in Chaska, Minn., brought a history of passing bad checks into court Thursday. Her record in Cass County includes two misdemeanor convictions, one in 2002 and another in January.
Her biggest run of bad checks began last fall. Court records show she passed 360 bad checks in about three months, with dollar amounts ranging from $3.16 at Dairy Queen to $500 at Mister Money.
Percy used two accounts, each of them under her name, but closed them before she began writing the checks, Myers said. Because the accounts were closed, her bank denied the checks as soon as it received them, leaving the stores with the loss.
Defense attorney Steve Mottinger said Percy has three children and was living in Fargo when she passed the checks.
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Sometimes she wrote several on the same day.
"Once it started, it just got totally out of control," Mottinger said.
On Oct. 5, a Sunday, court records show Percy made the following stops:
- T J Maxx: $100.66
- Take 2 Video: $74.15
- McDonald's: $14.59
- Wal-Mart: $196.41
- Kmart: $89.03
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- Plato's Closet: $62.54
- Once Upon a Child: $22.26
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Forster at (701) 241-5538
