Shirley Ann Kimball makes an appearance in Lewis County Superior court Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
An Oakville woman was charged with 10 felony counts of second-degree identity theft after being accused of using funds from the Fords Prairie Grange to pay for personal bills.
Shirley A. Kimball, 71, was released on her own personal recognizance.
According to a probable cause affidavit, an officer with the Centralia Police Department interviewed Kimball on Feb. 21, 2018, about the accusations. Members of the Grange had provided police with spreadsheets of spending activity, indicating that Kimball, also a member of the Grange, had been using the money for personal bills.
It was suspected she took as much as $4,000 to pay for electrical bills over the span of about 29 months, court documents allege. The money was allegedly taken between December 2012 and May 2015.
“When asked about paying her personal accounts with Grange funds, Kimball admitted to doing so, claiming that it was easier to write one check,” reads court documents. Kimball said she would be paying back the Grange in the coming days.
Officers obtained a search warrant for her bank account, to monitor whether she paid back the funds. They obtained the records in February, and the records allegedly did not indicate that she ever paid back the money.
During a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court Friday afternoon, Judge James Lawler, at the request of attorney Rachael Tiller, agreed that Kimball be released on her own personal recognizance.
She has an arraignment hearing set for March 28.
