A 38-year-old New York woman admitted in Natrona County District Court on Tuesday to traveling to Wyoming and attempting to steal money from banks to pay off her drug debt.
Christine Fitzpatrick made her confession as part of a plea agreement with the Natrona County District Attorney’s Office before Judge Kerri Johnson. Fitzpatrick appeared beside her attorney Dylan Rosalez.
Rosalez told the court that under terms of the plea deal with Assistant District Attorney Amanda Kirby, Fitzpatrick would plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to commit theft.
A third charge of possession of forged writings would be dismissed.
The deal caps any prison sentence at five years, Rosalez said. His client would also have to provide restitution for stolen funds.
Johnson read the charges against Fitzpatrick and asked if she understood the potential penalties as well as the plea agreement.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said.
The judge said she would “defer acceptance of the agreement” until after a pre-sentence investigation.
Fitzpatrick then pleaded guilty to the two charges and Johnson asked her for details about what she had done.
Fitzpatrick said she owed her drug dealer money in New York City.
“He sent me with a driver from New York to take (money by) withdrawal from banks,” she said.
Stolen IDs
Fitzpatrick agreed with the judge that she used stolen identification documents that were altered with her own photo to do the withdrawals.
The judge asked if she obtained funds from a bank in Casper.
“For the one here in Natrona County, I don’t believe so,” Fitzpatrick said.
Rosalez asked the judge to continue his client’s $100,000 cash or surety bond. The judge agreed and ordered the pre-sentence investigation.
A Casper police affidavit states that Fitzpatrick and her two partners were successful in obtaining $12,500 from a Buffalo ANB branch before arriving in Natrona County in the late afternoon of April 3 to try the same scheme.
A Casper ANB Bank branch contacted the Casper Police Department at 4:30 p.m. about a woman trying to obtain an $8,400 line of credit using a military ID of a woman they did not believe was the person standing in front of them.
Police found Fitzpatrick in an alley near the bank and approaching a black Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback that immediately left the scene when the officer initiated her lights, a police affidavit states.
The vehicle was later located by Laramie County Sheriff’s deputies and two suspects were arrested and sent to Natrona County to face charges.
Court cases involving conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to commit theft charges continue in Natrona County District Court against Fitzpatrick’s co-defendants Anthony Reynolds, 21, and John Stallworth, 45.
Casper police reported that Fitzpatrick possessed a fraudulent U.S. Army ID and a fraudulent U.S. passport. Both had the same name on the IDs and displayed Fitzpatrick’s photo.
Line Of Credit Withdrawals
“(Fitzpatrick) stated that during her three days in Wyoming she committed several line-of-credit withdrawals from numerous banks in the state,” the affidavit states. “Two days prior to this incident, she made three successful withdrawals in the amount of $8,400 at unknown banks.”
Fitzpatrick told police she had two unsuccessful attempts at other banks on April 2 but had been able to successfully withdraw $12,500 from the ANB Bank in Buffalo.
The woman also told police she did not know what city she was in but knew she was in Wyoming and that she knew the IDs she possessed were fraudulent.
Fitzpatrick also told police she had been instructed to leave all her identifying information in New York.
A phone seized from Fitzpatrick contained information on the name of the person on the passport and U.S. Army ID.
The Washakie County Sheriff’s Office contacted Casper Police about an identity theft case involving the name of the woman on the IDs carried by Fitzpatrick, the affidavit states.
The Buffalo Police Department confirmed to a Casper investigator the theft of $12,500 from the Buffalo ANB Bank branch.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
