Warden woman receiving drug treatment following theft, burglary

EPHRATA - A Warden woman is receiving drug treatment after stealing $5,000 in cash and jewelry from her aunt.

Brittany E. Miller, 24, pleaded guilty to residential burglary and first-degree theft in Grant County Superior Court, according to court records.

The charges weren't changed as part of the guilty plea, according to court records.

Miller's previous felony convictions included possession of methamphetamine, residential burglary and second-degree theft, according to court records. She faced a sentencing range of a year and a month to a year and five months in prison.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz followed the prosecutor's recommendation, sentencing Miller with a drug offender sentencing alternative, according to court records. Miller is serving 24 months of community custody and needs to have three to six months of drug treatment.

Prosecutor Angus Lee stated Miller's criminal history showed her crimes were motivated by a drug addiction. The state created the alternative as a way to hold criminals accountable and protect the community, while forcing drug-addicted criminals to receive treatment for the addiction causing the crimes.

"By forcing the drug treatment the defendant either stops doing drugs, and thereby stops committing new crimes, or she goes back to jail," Lee stated. "In this case the defendant plead guilty as charged at the beginning of the case, showing that she was serious about solving the drug issue and stopping the cycle of drug addiction and crime."

Miller was living with her mother and aunt in an East Seventh Street residence, when her moods and behavior began changing, according to a Warden police report. Miller's behavior included moodiness and staying out all night, and prompted her aunt to lock her bedroom door.

Miller stacked boxes outside her aunt's window and snuck into the bedroom, according to the police report. She pried the locks off two storage boxes with a screwdriver, and took the cash and jewelry inside.

Miller's mother came home and found paperwork normally stored in the boxes in the carport, according to court records.

When police confronted Miller about the theft, she admitted to taking the items and selling the jewelry to two Moneytree locations in the Tri-Cities, according to the police report. She spent all of the cash.

The jewelry was recovered from the locations. Miller received nearly $1,000 for the items, according to court records.