Woman gets three years for theft

Published 10:29 am Thursday, February 24, 2011

A woman who had previously pleaded guilty to stealing from bank customers while she was a teller was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday.

Judge Charles Cooper sentenced Amy Ratcliff, 31, of 102 Carlyle St., Coal Grove, during Lawrence County Common Pleas Court to three years for second-degree theft from an elderly person and 11 months for fifth-degree theft. The sentences will be served concurrently, for a total of three years in prison.

Ratcliff pleaded guilty to taking money from customers while she worked at PNC Bank of Coal Grove. In addition to her prison term, Cooper ordered Ratcliff to pay $28,000 in restitution to the bank.

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Also in court Wednesday, a man denied taking nude photographs of a 13-year-old girl and other charges.

Robert Thatcher, 72, of 109 N. Jones St., Proctorville, pleaded not guilty to pandering obscenity involving a minor, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and illegal use of a minor in nudity.

Thatcher allegedly had sexual contact with the girl, Lawrence County Assistant Prosecutor Bob Anderson said. If convicted, Thatcher faces up to eight years for pandering obscenity and illegal use of nudity, both second-degree felonies, and three years for unlawful sexual contact with a minor, a third-degree felony.

In other cases:

Ronald Koster, 63, of 357 County Road 16, Pedro, admitted violating the terms of his community-controlled sanctions by possessing firearms.

Judge D. Scott Bowling sentenced Koster to two years in prison, which is the balance of the prison term that was reserved when he was placed on CCS.

Timothy Henry, 22, of 816 ½ S. Fourth St., Ironton, admitted violating the terms of his community-controlled sanctions by testing positive and admitting to drug use.

Bowling sentenced Henry to the relapse program at the STAR Community justice Center.

Tonya Hardy, 22, of 25 Township Road 1067, South Point, denied violating the terms of her community-controlled sanctions. Cooper scheduled a CCS trial for Wednesday.

Joseph A. Jenkins, 36, of 615 County Road 3, Chesapeake, pleaded guilty to aggravated drug possession, a third-degree felony. Cooper ordered a pre-sentencing investigation and scheduled sentencing for March 23.

Steven R. Triplett, 32, of 9669 State Route 141, Kitts Hill, requested to withdraw his previous guilty plea.

Triplett pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February last year to eight years in prison for aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, both first-degree felonies.

He was in court Wednesday for resentencing because of a wording difference between the verbal sentencing and the written judgment entry. Cooper denied the request to withdraw the plea and sentenced Triplett to the same eight years that he had previously been sentenced to. An appeals court is handling Triplett’s appeal of Cooper’s sentence.

In court Tuesday, Nicholas C. Sycks, 24, of 3466 County Road 181, Ironton, pleaded guilty to two counts of failure to appear, fourth-degree felonies, and escape, a fifth-degree felony. Cooper sentenced Sycks to three years in prison.