Spree thief sentenced to 27 months

Oct. 11, 2005

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A Valley woman who stole a purse from a car parked outside a Wasilla day-care center, used credit cards from it in an ensuing shopping spree at Wal-Mart and Sears and, while on bail, bounced checks drawn on a bank account she opened in the purse-owner's name, must serve 27 months in prison, a Palmer Superior Court judge said Wednesday.

Stacy Moore, 22, also received two years of probation during her sentencing hearing before Judge Eric Smith on charges of fraudulent use of an access device, third-degree theft, fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance and first-degree criminal impersonation. Moore must pay $1,268.04 to one victim, Carrie Leonard, and prosecutors asked the court for another 90 days to determine the amount of restitution for another victim, Nicole Smith.

In late June, on the day the court was set to pick jurors, Moore made a deal combining punishment for each of the three 2005 cases in which she was involved - or, as Palmer Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Powell said at the time, &#8221global resolution.“

Moore, who is being held at Hiland Mountain Correctional Facility, listened Wednesday as her victims told the court how her crimes affected their lives, but said nothing.

Moore stole a cell phone and prescription pain medications from Carrie Leonard's car in March. Leonard told the court by telephone that Moore repeatedly lied to her, showed no remorse and used her two young children to distract victims.

&#8221Consider the poor children,“ Leonard said. &#8221They need better care.“

Another victim, Nicole Smith, a manager at Ray's Day Care in Wasilla, had run inside the center March 11 to pick up her godson after leaving to pick up another child. She left her 9-year-old son in a back seat of her unlocked car.

On her way in, she noticed a woman smoking a cigarette in the green Saturn next to her car.

On her way out, her son ran in with &#8221a horrified look on his face,“ Nicole Smith said in a previous Frontiersman article. He told his mother the woman in the next car got out and came over to Smith's. The boy told his mother the woman looked in the window, put out her cigarette and opened the door. She took the purse and walked back to her car, stashing it under a seat.

Smith thought it is possible the woman didn't see her son in the back seat, behind tinted windows. The purse contained two checkbooks, several credit cards, insurance and identification cards.

The Ray's Day Care manager, according to Smith and an affidavit filed by Wasilla police officer Joel Smith, realized that client Carrie Harvey had just come and gone with her friend, Stacy Moore. The manager called Harvey and told her to bring back the purse, the affidavit said. They also immediately called police.

Harvey said she had just dropped off Moore at home, and didn't see a purse in the car.

Wasilla police already suspected Moore and Harvey's involvement in the Leonard medication-theft case, and brought a photo lineup. The boy identified Moore as the thief.

Harvey's child was still at the day-care center. When Harvey returned, Officer Joel Smith was there waiting for her.

She told him she and Moore had gone shopping - separately - at Wal-Mart. She said she didn't see her friend pay for anything. But she did see a tool kit, children's clothing and diapers.

Nicole Smith called Officer Smith. Someone had bought $413.60 worth of items at Wal-Mart using her credit card, she told him, and bought $624.82 worth of items at Sears as well.

That night, Wasilla police officers found Moore at her Vienna Woods Trailer Court residence. She was hiding in a pile of clothing in a back bedroom, according to Officer Smith's affidavit. They arrested her. She had three outstanding warrants as well, the affidavit said. They also seized things she'd purchased using Nicole Smith's credit card.

Moore admitted the purse theft and the fraudulent shopping spree.

Wasilla Police Officer Kelly Swihart searched Harvey's residence the next day and seized more items purchased at Wal-Mart on the stolen card. &#8221Harvey indicated that Moore broke into her residence the previous night and planted the items,“ according to Swihart's affidavit.

Moore and Harvey were both released on bail.

On April 15, Nicole Smith said she received a call from a collection agency asking her about some bounced Wells Fargo checks: $45 at KFC, $100 from Applebee's, a couple from Wal-Mart.

But Smith didn't have a Wells Fargo account.

She found out upon a trip to the bank that Moore had shown identification stolen from Smith, paid a $50 deposit, and opened a checking account at Wells Fargo in Wasilla.

A teller in training, Jennifer Massie, said Moore came in just before the branch closed for the day, with two children in tow. She told Nicole Smith she remembered thinking it was a little odd that the woman who called herself Nicole Smith had a keychain that said &#8221Stacy.“

Massie picked out Moore from a photo lineup.

Moore gave up the starter checks and some of Nicole Smith's stolen cards to Officer Joel Smith on May 7.

&#8221She made $2,000 in charges within an hour,“ Nicole Smith said at Moore's sentencing hearing Wednesday. &#8221She used my identification to open accounts at Wells Fargo. She used her children to distract the tellers. My son apologizes for not protecting me, to this day. She uses tears and her children as sympathy ploys. I have more concern for her children than she does for mine.“

All of Moore's victims urged the judge to give her the maximum amount of time possible.

Nicole Smith's husband, Dave, expressed concern that Moore showed no remorse.

&#8221This may be her first felony, but it's just the first time she was caught,“ he said. &#8221If she learns something, that's a bonus. Just get her off the streets.“

Krista Maciolek, Moore's public defender, said Moore admits having a substance-abuse problem. Moore wants more for her life and for her kids' lives, Maciolek said, and is enrolled in a drug-treatment program at Hiland Mountain Correctional Facility.

Maciolek asked for a sentence of 18 months, with three years' probation, and restitution to her victims. But she also saw a problem with the terms of release when Moore has served her time.

Moore is not permitted to associate with known felons, Maciolek said, but her parents and the father of her children have criminal records. &#8221I don't believe the court's intent was to keep her away from family,“ Maciolek said at Wednesday's hearing.

Powell said she was troubled to see someone who comes back to court again and again.

&#8221These were fairly ballsy crimes,“ Powell said.

Powell pointed to Moore's lengthy criminal history, including her record of juvenile thefts and her relatively young age.

Linda Moore, Stacy's mother, was in court with her two young grandchildren. She pleaded with the court to recognize her daughter's good heart.

&#8221Drugs are the devil's workshop, and he's done a good job with Stacy,“ she said. &#8221When she did sober up, she just gasped when she learned what she'd done. Give her a chance to prove she's a good person. She was so high, she doesn't even remember what she did.“

When Smith sentenced Moore, he pointed out that, at some point, taking drugs is a choice.

Smith said the sentence reflects community condemnation and what she put Nicole Smith's son through.

&#8221Ms. Moore, I hope you clean up,“ he said.

Moore's co-defendant, Carrie Harvey, later pleaded no contest to using Nicole Smith's credit card, received a two-year prison sentence Oct. 3 because she had a previous felony on her record, but was not taken into custody, according to Powell, because Harvey has not yet finalized child-care arrangements.