Former county employee averts trial in theft of public money

A former Douglas County Social Services case manager entered a plea on Monday morning as potential jurors were lining up to hear her case.

Rena Petri was the only person indicted by a special grand jury after a tip was called in Douglas County Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline.

Petri denied using her position to take $4,400 from the county, but she brought the money to an earlier hearing.

She is accused of using her position to create fraudulent documents for fictious rental assistance in the amounts of $2,400 and $2,000.

A five-day trial for Petri on two counts of theft was scheduled to begin on Monday.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 22.