A Carey woman has been sentenced to eight years probation after pleading guilty to felony grand theft for purchasing a vehicle with someone else's money.
Fifth District Court Judge Robert J. Elgee pronounced sentence on July 23 for 40-year-old Katherine Ann McKay. Elgee also ordered a withheld judgment, which means the conviction can be dismissed for McKay's record if she serves her probation to the satisfaction of the court.
As part of her probation, McKay was also ordered to pay a yet-to-be-determined amount of restitution to Morgan's Fine Finishes, the Hailey business she admitted to defrauding. A hearing was set before Elgee at 10 a.m. on Sept. 10 to determine the amount.
McKay was arrested the afternoon of Nov. 8, 2006, after she used a Morgan's Fine Finishes business check to purchase a 1996 white Ford Explorer for $3,900 from a Ketchum man.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Ketchum Police Department, McKay, a bookkeeper for Morgan's, procured a signed blank check on Nov. 7 from company proprietor Christopher Zarkos. The affidavit says the check was supposed to be used to pay for an order of wood flooring, but McKay used it instead to purchase the vehicle from Ketchum resident Dale Johnson.
The affidavit says that Johnson, described as a friend of Zarkos, contacted Zarkos about the transaction and Zarkos in turn contacted Ketchum police. McKay was arrested after she signed a bill of sale for the vehicle on Nov. 8, the affidavit says.
Following her arrest, McKay was also investigated by the Hailey Police Department on allegations of embezzlement of other money from the company.
As part of a plea agreement, the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney's Office did not file embezzlement charges against McKay, but stipulated that she pay restitution to Morgan's as a term of her probation. Court records say the amount will be in the neighborhood of $17,000.
"The long and short of it is that you pay it back very quickly," Elgee told McKay at sentencing. "If you get it paid back, you're going to be granted your withheld judgment."
Katherine Ann McKay
