The Blotter
The Times' criminal justice team looks behind the scenes and behind the headlines.
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Former dog walker sentenced for stealing from Eastside homes
Posted by Jennifer Sullivan
Mary Chodl, a Capitol Hill woman arrested late last year after Medina police said that she swiped a $55,000 wedding ring and other items from an Eastside home, was sentenced this afternoon to 22 months in prison. She was given credit for the 184 days she has already spent in jail, so she will spend about 16 months in prison.
Chodl -- who is also known as Allison Chodl -- pleaded guilty last month to first-degree theft, first-degree trafficking in stolen property, second-degree identity theft and second-degree theft, according the King County Prosecutor's Office. According to plea paperwork, Chodl attributes her actions to "mental health issues."
Prosecutors sought a 22-month prison sentence in the case.
When Chodl, 64, was arrested in December she was linked with the theft of the ring, a gold watch and other jewelry -- a total of about $110,000 worth of items -- from a Medina home. She has since been linked another thefts.
The Medina woman who reported the missing items said that Chodl was one of two employees who had access to her home, according to police. Chodl worked as a dogwalker for the woman.
Police recovered the ring and watch from a Redmond pawnshop. Officers searched Chodl's apartment and found stolen property belonging to the Medina woman and another woman, charging papers say.
A second victim told police that Chodl had recently house sat for her. Investigators say that Chodl had used this woman's credit cards to make purchases at a Bellevue jewelry store, a pharmacy and a gas station, court papers said.
Prosecutors said that Chodl's criminal history dates to 1978, when she was convicted of grand theft and employee embezzlement in California. She also was convicted of bank robbery there in 1985. Chodl also has served prison time in Alaska and Washington, and her FBI record shows more than a dozen aliases.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
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