PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Public Defenders hired forensics experts this week to pore over more than 60,000 pages of financial documents involved in the aggravated first-degree theft case against former Treasurer’s Office cashier Catherine Betts, Port Angeles lawyer Loren Oakley said Thursday in Superior Court.
Oakley said during a five-minute status hearing that it was not likely he would be ready to defend Betts, who allegedly stole at least $617,467 in public funds from the office’s cash drawer, by the scheduled trial date of Jan. 10.
“Given the volume of discovery in this case, I doubt we’ll be ready to go in two months,” he said.
Wood set another status hearing for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, when Oakley said he expects to know if he’s ready to proceed with the trial.
Betts, who has pleaded not guilty, participated in the hearing by speaker phone from Shelton, where she returned after being released on her own recognizance.
Her only participation Thursday was to answer yes when asked if the Dec. 14 status-hearing date would work for her.
State Assistant Attorney General Scott Marlow, who is prosecuting the case, also participated by speaker phone.
The theft, discovered May 19, 2009, involved Betts allegedly manipulating and destroying Treasurer’s Office paper and computer records in a checks-for-cash fraud involving real estate excise tax proceeds over a six-year period, a state Auditor’s Office investigation concluded in February after a nine-month investigation.
On June 10, Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor moved the felony trial from July 12 to Jan. 10, putting it almost two years after the alleged theft was discovered.
Clallam County approved a $597,516 insurance settlement to cover the alleged theft Oct. 5, not including a $10,000 deductible.
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Staff writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.