Former deputy clerk pleads not guilty

A former Kootenai County deputy clerk accused of embezzling $139,000 from her employer over a 10-year period has pleaded not guilty to a grand theft charge. Sandy Martinson, 62, entered the plea Monday in 1st District Court. Her attorney, Frederick Loats, estimated in court documents that a trial would last three days. Grand theft is punishable by up to 14 years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. County officials said that when Martinson retired in November, a routine review of records revealed irregularities that led the county to suspect embezzlement. Due to Martinson’s more than three-decade career with Kootenai County, Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall is handling the case.