An Illinois woman was ordered to serve a prison term not to exceed 10 years for a felony theft charge.
Laesa J. Wells, 33, of Flora, Illinois, appeared Thursday in Clinton County District County for a plea and sentencing hearing on a charge of first-degree theft, a Class C felony. District Court Judge Stuart Werling ordered Wells to serve a prison sentence not to exceed 10 years. The sentence was ordered to run concurrently to a sentence Wells currently is serving at the Lincoln Correctional Center in Lincoln, Illinois. Upon Wells’ release from the Illinois Department of Corrections, she must immediately contact the Iowa Parole Board for the purpose of completing Iowa parole supervision.
http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html
Court-appointed attorney fees not to exceed $1,200 were waived due to Wells’ incarceration. A charge of identity theft over $1,000 was dismissed at sentencing.
According to the affidavit, on Oct. 21, Wells called Thiel Motors of DeWitt claiming to be Janette Wells and inquired about a truck for sale. She requested Thiel Motors run a credit check on Janette Wells. Thiel Motors ran the credit check and sent it to the bank they use for financing, which approved the loan. Thiel Motors then called Wells and notified her of the approval. The defendant entered Thiel Motors on Oct. 22 at approximately 6:45 p.m., 15 minutes before Thiel closes. The defendant agreed to purchase the truck for over $32,000 and signed the name Janette Wells on all of the paperwork and provided Thiel Motors with Janette Wells’ Illinois driver’s license and place of employment. The defendant also provided Thiel Motors with an insurance card with Janette Wells’ name on it and provided a $2,000 check for downpayment on the truck. The check had the name Richard L. Wells on it, which the defendant claimed was her husband. Richard L. Wells was determined to be the defendant’s father. The defendant eventually left Thiel Motors with the truck.
The affidavit states that on Oct. 23, the real Janette Wells called Thiel Motors and told them she did not purchase a truck from them and did not authorize anyone else to do so. This is when Thiel Motors notified the DeWitt Police Department of the incident. An officer initiated an investigation into the matter and called the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and confirmed Janette Wells made a complaint regarding her stolen identity. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office told the officer their suspect was the defendant. The officer printed off a recent photo of the defendant and showed it to employees at Thiel Motors, who positively identified her as the person to whom they sold the truck.
