A 34-year-old Carson City woman pleaded guilty Monday to theft, admitting she drained nearly $4,000 from the bank account of her brother who is in the U.S. Army.
Kristi Lynn Reed requested that she be sentenced to Western Regional Drug Court in lieu of prison.
She faces up to five years and a $10,000 fine.
If Reed is admitted to drug court and successfully completes it, the charge could be dismissed.
She agreed to make restitution.
According to reports, Reed reportedly wrote 24 checks to herself and friends totaling more than $3,685 on her brother's credit union account.
The crime was discovered when her brother, reviewing his account online, discovered it was overdrawn by $594.34 and recognized his sister's handwriting on the check facsimiles.
The victim's father reported the crime to authorities. He said the suspect, who is his daughter, stays at his Bluerock residence occasionally when her brother is not home.
That's where she had access to the checks among her brother's belongings.
The checks were written between July 12 and Aug. 16.
"I was buying drugs with the money," Reed told District Judge Michael Gibbons.
Her lawyer, Tod Young, said a substance abuse evaluation indicated Reed had methamphetamine and alcohol dependency.
"It would be in Ms. Reed's best interest to begin a counseling regimen now," Young said.
Gibbons set sentencing for Jan. 31. He advised Reed she could face charges in other jurisdictions where the checks were cashed.
