<img src=" http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/courts.gif " border=0> Carthage woman pleads guilty in theft case

April 22, 2008 11:59 pm

— A Carthage woman, accused of taking a credit card out of someone else’s diaper bag at a day-care center and using it to make purchases at a Wal-Mart, has pleaded guilty to felony stealing.
Stephanie B. Delapena, 22, on Monday changed her plea to guilty on the stealing charge in a plea agreement limiting the time she might be required to serve to no more than three years. The county prosecutor’s office also agreed not to oppose possible placement of the defendant in a restorative-justice program.
Delapena on Sept. 7, 2007, was at a day-care center at 822 Sycamore St. in Carthage, and took a credit card from a diaper bag and used it to buy two $85 gift certificates and a cell phone at a Wal-Mart before returning the card to the bag, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
The plea agreement does not indicate whether the prosecutor’s office will continue to pursue a second charge against Delapena of fraudulent use of a credit device.
Circuit Judge Gayle Crane ordered a sentencing-assessment report and set sentencing for July 7.
Delapena also is facing a charge of second-degree robbery for allegedly helping Johnny Lopez on Oct. 1, 2007, in the theft of a vehicle belonging to Erika Lopez Rodas in Carthage. She is scheduled to appear in court on that charge as well on July 7.