Ex-court clerk makes plea deal in theft case

Thursday, March 3, 2005 | 9:48 a.m.

A 37-year-old clerk at the Las Vegas Municipal Court who used the identity of a Metro Police sergeant's wife to steal from a department store entered a plea agreement Wednesday that will most likely result in her being sentenced to probation.

Stephanie Stevenson pleaded guilty to one count of attempted theft. Prosecutors said they would have no opposition to her receiving probation during her April 27 sentencing before District Judge David Wall.

Wall told Stevenson he would have the final say at her sentencing and could send her to prison for one to four years.

Stevenson was originally charged with possession of credit or debit card without cardholder's consent.

A representative of the Las Vegas Human Resources Department said Stevenson resigned from her position on Dec. 9, the same day as her arrest.

Because her job had involved processing of payment information for citizens settling traffic tickets and warrants, she had access to personal checks, cashier's checks and credit card numbers.

According to police, Clark County Health District Employee Susan Donegan, who also worked at Dillard's department store, passed along information on people with lines of credit at the store to Stevenson, who was reportedly having money problems.

Donegan would then create a health card bearing the victim's name and address and Stevenson's photograph, police said.

Stevenson used the health cards as photo identification and the stolen credit card numbers to buy $864 worth of merchandise and gift cards at Dillard's on Dec. 9. One of her victims, Cheryl Fricker, is married to Sgt. Eric Fricker of Metro's downtown area command.

Stevenson was detained by store guards and later arrested by police after a cashier who was scanning the cards noticed a fraud alert had been placed on the account and called security.

Donegan was arrested on one count of theft, and according to the health district's human resources department she has since been terminated.

She is to be arraigned before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle on March 17.