A Carroll County District Court judge has ordered probation for a Carroll woman who plead guilty to stealing more than $10,000 from a local payday lender. Twenty-four-year-old Natasha Ranae Warnke had a five year prison sentence for second-degree theft suspended on Thursday, May 9, and was instead ordered to serve three years of probation and pay nearly $42,000 in restitution along with court costs for the class D felony charge. A plea agreement was reached in February of this year that reduced the original charge from a class C felony of first-degree theft. Warnke turned herself in to authorities on Oct. 2, 2018 as they investigated an incident in mid-July in which Warnke had reported bank deposit bags were stolen from her vehicle by a black man who then fled on foot. The investigation ultimately revealed Warnke had taken varying amounts from her Carroll employer, Check Into Cash, between April 25, 2016 through Jan. 18, 2018. The agreement reached on Thursday also suspended fines and surcharges of more than $1,000.
