Charge reduced in exchange for testimony
Wednesday, February 28, 2001
Steamboat Springs — A 23-year-old Wisconsin woman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge Wednesday for a burglary that occurred last September in Clark.
Elizabeth Ann Phillips, 23, faced a felony charge of burglary but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after an agreement was reached between her attorney, Norm Townsend, and Assistant District Attorney Kerry St. James.
"This is a major reduction," Routt County Judge James Garrecht said of the deal.
St. James reduced the felony charge after Phillips agreed to testify against a second suspect.
Phillips was with Shawn Jay Moffett when the two allegedly broke into a home under construction in the 27500 block of Running Elk Lane in Clark.
Moffett, a soldier in the U.S. Army, faces charges of burglary, trespassing and criminal mischief. He is stationed at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs.
A relative of the homeowner arrived at the house in Clark the night of the burglary and saw two people run out. That witness was able to give authorities a description of a car that left the scene.
Steamboat Springs police found the vehicle at a local convenience store and Moffett and Phillips were arrested.
For her guilty plea to the misdemeanor charge, Phillips was sentenced by Garrecht to one year of unsupervised probation, 120 hours of community service, fined $100 and ordered to pay $138 in court costs.
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