Plea deals rejected by woman accused of stealing from Ithaca dentist’s office
OCT 2015, ITHACA, N.Y. — A woman accused of stealing more than $4,000 from her employer at a dentist’s office in Ithaca rejected both plea deals offered to her, and her lawyer successfully argued for a lower bail Tuesday in court.
Sheila Shattuck, 40, is charged with third-degree grand larceny and 16 counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
According to court records, from March 2013 to July 30 2014, Shattuck is accused of pocketing cash payments from customers at Fall Creek Family Dentistry and altering credit card records to hide the thefts. She’s also accused of stealing furniture and appliances.
Shattuck rejected two plea deals offered to her and — pending results from a pre-trial conference — will return to court for a trial in December.
Assistant District Attorney Dan Johnson said he’d recommend a two to four year sentence and a reduction to one count of fourth-degree grand larceny if Shattuck repaid the $4,530.60 she’s accused of stealing. But he said no restitution payments have been made.
He said that if she pleaded guilty without repayments, he’d recommenced three to six years in jail.
He said his recommendation was based on the severity of the crime and the fact that she’s previously been convicted of a felony.
Shattuck’s attorney Seth Peacock said they did not have the money to accept the first deal and were rejecting the second.
He did, however, ask Judge Joseph Cassidy to reduce her bail from $5,000 to $2,500 so her family could afford to bail her out.
“That’s not possible at this time,” he said about paying the higher bail amount.
Cassidy said probation department officials, who have access to the details of the case, recommended that bail be reduced, so he lowered it to $3,000.
