A woman from The Plains appeared in the Athens County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday when she was placed on a bond of $80,000 for crimes against a relative.
Jayne Burns-Hobbs, 46, is accused of purposefully depriving a relative, Lorretta Hobbs, of several purchases on her credit card in June 2011. According to court documents, Hobbs is an “elderly person or disabled,” and the value of the stolen property was between $20,000 and $30,000.
Burns-Hobbs was served two indictments: one on Sept. 27, 2012 for one count of theft and/or grand theft, and the other on Feb. 11, 2013 for one count of theft of an elderly person and two counts of tampering with evidence.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges at separate arraignments.
According to court documents, Burns-Hobbs was ordered to “stay away from (the) alleged victim, except as divorce proceedings may require.”
However, it was not immediately clear by press time how the two women were related.
Burns-Hobbs had several continuances in her case because she was hospitalized, according to court documents. She is due back in court for a pretrial hearing April 3.
Theft from an elderly person or disabled adult is a felony of the first degree, and the other three are felonies of the third degree. If Burns-Hobbs is found guilty of all of the charges, she could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
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