Ex-clerk pleads not guilty to $139k theft

A former Kootenai County deputy clerk accused of embezzling $139,000 over 10 years 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.

When Martinson retired in November, a routine review of records revealed irregularities that led the county to suspect embezzlement, officials say.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall is handling the case because of Martinson’s more than three-decade career with Kootenai County.