Woman pleads guilty to felony theft
A Greencastle woman pleaded guilty Wednesday in Putnam Circuit Court to a charge of Class D felony theft.
Tamera S. Wade, 45, of the 700 block of South Locust Street, is accused of stealing several thousand dollars from the office of a local accountant. Wade worked for the accountant as an office assistant.
Scott Stockton of the Indiana State Police is the lead detective on the case. He declined to divulge the name of the accountant Wade worked for or the exact amount of money she had allegedly stolen.
"Those are facts I don't really want to reveal because there could be ramifications for and further damage done to the business," Stockton said.
Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter said it was safe to say Wade was accused of stealing several thousand dollars.
"It's my understanding that they're still investigating and trying to come up with an exact amount," he said.
Wade was not arrested, Stockton said. A warrant for her arrest was issued on Tuesday, but she surrendered herself to the court the next day. She was accompanied by her attorney, Darrell Felling.
"After she went to court, she was taken to the jail and processed like anyone else would have been," Stockton said.
Wade's sentencing was set for Oct. 16.
Wade has no prior criminal record, which Stockton said is not out of the ordinary.
"Historically, if you look at white-collar crime, most of the offenders are first-time offenders," he said. "Things happen and people do things that are out of character. They are people other people know ... people with families, elders in the church, your neighbors."