Woman faces 30 charges

SANDPOINT — A preliminary hearing is pending for a Sagle woman charged with 13 felonies and 17 misdemeanors for a string of thefts at Walmart.

Jennifer Louise Koch is charged with 13 felony burglary counts, 12 counts of misdemeanor theft and five counts of misdemeanor theft via price tag conversion.

A Ponderay Police probable cause affidavit alleges the burglaries and thefts occurred between November 2018 and February of this year. A Walmart asset protection investigation determined Koch had failed to scan items at the self-checkout registers and had switched price tags for items of a lesser value, the affidavit said.

The value of the stolen merchandise totaled $240.73 and the value of the under-scanned items amounted to $23.71 — sums which fall well below the $1,000 threshold for a felony theft charge. Koch is charged with burglary because it’s alleged she entered the establishment with the intent to commit theft.

Burglary is punishable by one to 10 years in prison.

Koch, 45, is free on her own recognizance while the case is pending. Outside of traffic offenses, Koch has no prior criminal history in the state of Idaho, according to the iCourt database.

A hearing to determine if the state possesses sufficient evidence to justify a trial in 1st District Court is set for Dec. 18.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.