A 51-year-old Toledo woman has pleaded guilty to theft, a charge linked to accusations that she stole nearly $30,000 while serving as the bookkeeper of the Cedar Village IGA in Winlock, and was sentenced Wednesday to 60 days of electronic home monitoring.
Trisha M. Williams paid restitution in the amount of $28,804 as she accepted a plea agreement July 30, pleading guilty to a reduced charge of felony second-degree theft after initially being charged with first-degree theft in Lewis County Superior Court in December 2024.
“Between July 13, 2020, and November 19, 2024, I worked at the IGA grocery market located in Lewis County WA,” Williams wrote in her guilty plea. “Part of my duties involved tracking paid time off and submitting payroll. Over that time, I assigned vacation and sick time to my pay that I was not entitled to. The amount of money I wrongfully received was in excess of $750.”
She was charged Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of first-degree theft.
Williams was the only person in charge of Cedar Village IGA’s payroll during her employment there from July 2020 to October 2024, according to court documents. Williams reportedly trained the new bookkeeper between October and her departure on Nov. 19.
On Nov. 29, the business’s new bookkeeper informed the Winlock Police Department that she had discovered fraud allegedly committed by Williams, according to court documents.
Williams was accused of crediting herself with an extra 959.75 hours of vacation time and an extra 196.5 hours of sick time, which she cashed out, for a total of approximately $28,912.50, according to court documents.
A Winlock police officer reportedly obtained a search warrant for Williams’ bank records and confirmed that “in just September 2024, Williams gave herself 240 hours of vacation time, and it appeared she had consistently over time given herself extra amounts,” according to court documents.
When questioned by a Winlock police officer, Williams reportedly “expressed disbelief, and agreed the hours didn’t add up,” then allegedly “said she couldn’t calculate anyone’s hours and didn’t know how to calculate them.”
She later allegedly “admitted she knew she was taking the money” and “mentioned bills, car payments and a car she had to buy.” She allegedly “agreed it looked like she had been giving herself small amounts and gradually increasing the amounts over time, but said that isn’t what happened,” according to court documents.
Williams was released from the Lewis County Jail on $10,000 unsecured bail on Monday, Dec. 30, following her preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court.
She has been out on bail since her sentencing. She will begin electronic home monitoring on Aug. 7.
