In brief: Woman accused of embezzlement

A Rathdrum woman was arrested Monday on suspicion of embezzling more than $450,000 from a Post Falls doctor’s office.

Yolanda M. Williams, 36, is charged with grand theft and forgery for allegedly making fraudulent online transfers from the bank account of Post Falls Family Medicine into her personal bank account, Post Falls police said.

Williams, who worked as an office manager, began making withdrawals from the business accounts as far back as July 2003, police said. Other managers at the practice notice money was missing Oct. 5.

Williams is accused of altering records to erroneously show payments were made to vendors. She is also accused of taking unauthorized checks from the business, forging them and depositing them into her own bank account.

Court records dated Oct. 20 show the clinic is seeking $451,289 in damages.

Williams was booked into the Kootenai County Jail.

Sara Leaming

Snow levels could reach low-lying areas

Snow levels are dropping from the mountains to the valley floors this morning, creating the possibility of the first snowfall of the season at lower elevations.

Forecasters said Monday’s rain and wind are being followed by colder air that is likely to bring snow to the mountains and possibly to elevations as low as 1,900 feet this morning.

Downtown Spokane is at 1,880 feet; Spokane Valley at 2,000 feet and Coeur d’Alene at 2,200 feet.

Temperatures were expected to dip below freezing this morning with lows of 31 in Spokane and a 40 percent chance of rain or snow. Coeur d’Alene’s low should reach 35 with a 50 percent chance or rain or snow.

Mike Prager

Motorists cash in on faulty fuel pump

Several motorists took advantage of an apparent computer malfunction at an Athol gas station Saturday, pumping more than 370 gallons of fuel for just a penny a gallon.

An employee Cydco Food and Fuel, 29801 N. Highway 95, said between 1:45 a.m. and 3:40 a.m. multiple people filled up after a pump malfunctioned, according to a theft report filed by the gas station with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

Customers at one pump were charged 1 cent a gallon, instead of the $2.86. An employee at the store said two people returned to pay full price, but two other people returned multiple times to take advantage of the error.

Because transactions at the pump were so close together, the report states, it appears customers contacted others to tell them about the price error.

Police are attempting to track down customers who paid 1 cent per gallon through bank card numbers.

The total loss to the store was $1,073.

Sara Leaming