A woman suspected of a rash of shoplifting incidents across Juneau took a plea deal in court Monday in exchange for 60 days in prison and a $50 fine.
Monica Field will only serve five days of that, however, under the terms of the plea agreement; the remainder of the prison sentence is suspended during her term of probation.
Field, 34, pleaded guilty to three separate larceny charges in Juneau Superior Court. The first was a June 26 shoplifting incident at Shoefly with a reported loss of nearly $1,000, for which she will receive 30 days in prison with 25 suspended and one year probation; the second was a July 15 shoplifting at Hummingbird Hollow at the airport, with the loss estimated at $262, in return for a suspended 30-day sentence and one year probation. The third shoplifting was on July 20 at Annie Kaill’s, with a loss of $205; Field will be fined $50 in that case.
Field must pay restitution and must write apology letters to the business owners, as part of the plea agreement. According to Municipal Prosecutor Sherri Layne, none of the shoplifted items have been recovered.
Layne told Judge Kirsten Swanson that she appreciated Field taking responsibility.
“This year is not going very well for her,” Layne said. “From here on out, she’s looking at jail time.”
Layne noted that Field has children and said that every business in town now knows what she looks like; Field’s image circulated widely on Facebook after she was caught on store surveillance videos allegedly stealing items.
[Recent rash of shoplifting infuriates business owners]
“The minute she walks in, they will be suspicious,” Layne said, adding, “that’s what happens” when you steal.
Field appeared to try to explain shoplifting a pair of boots from Shoefly by telling the judge that she didn’t realize how much they would cost.
“I am very sorry,” she said. “I will not steal again. … I want to set a good example for my son.”
Tom Wagner, her court-appointed attorney, called the plea agreement a “generous offer,” saying, “The community is pretty tired of thieves.”
Wagner noted Field owes more than $1,400 in restitution, adding, “She has to find an honest way to make money to pay off her debt.”
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
