Stanley sentenced in El Norteño fraud case
Mariah Stanley, 31, of Abbotsford, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and four years of probation on September 13 at the Clark County Courthouse in Neillsville for her part in stealing money from El Norteño restaurant in Curtiss.
The recommended sentence by the Department of Corrections was three years of probation with no jail time. District Attorney Melissa Inlow represented the state during the sentencing hearing and asked for sixth months of conditional jail time for Stanley as well as four years of probation. Inlow gave a list of reasons the state felt the sixth month sentence would be appropriate. Reasons included Stanley’s past charges in Arizona and Pennsylvania, her recurring criminal behavior and her drug use while the crimes took place.
The state also asked that Stanley pay restitution in the amount of $110,795 to Abbyland Foods/El Norteño. Additionally, Stanley is to undergo an alcohol and other drugs assessment, maintain absolute sobriety with random testing to ensure compliance, hold a job for at least 25 hours per week and have no contact with El Norteño or Abbyland Foods.
Stanley’s attorney Bryant Plank said Stanley agreed to the terms the state had listed but asked that the jail time be reduced. Plank asked the court to consider the 153 days she had already spent in jail since her arrest.
Judge William Bratcher said the court could not credit Stanley for time served pre-sentencing but when he issued the 90-day jail sentence, he said he had taken into consideration her time she had already served.
Stanley read a statement apologizing to those that had been hurt by her actions.
“I would like to start by apologizing to El Norteño and Abbyland for the theft, broken trust, waste of labor, time and any other problems that may have arose from my actions,” Stanley said.
Stanley told the court her intent after sentencing was to explore the ability to get her probation transferred to Arizona but said she understood that if she could not transfer her probation, she would serve her time in Wisconsin.
Bratcher agreed to the state’s terms but reduced the jail sentence from six months to 90 days and said he hoped the extended probation period would help Stanley have enough time to pay the restitution in full back to Abbyland.
