Former Ocean Shores Chamber of Commerce director Piper Marie Leslie entered an Alford plea of guilty to attempted theft in the second degree — a gross misdemeanor — in Grays Harbor Superior Court on Monday afternoon.
In August 2020, a year after she resigned from the chamber, she was charged with second-degree theft, a Class C felony, after prosecutors said it was found she had written unauthorized extra paychecks to herself.
Before Superior Court Judge David Mistachkin on Monday, Leslie entered her Alford plea — which is a guilty plea, but not an admittance of guilt, rather an acknowledgement that if the case went to trial — as it was schedule to do June 30 — the jury could find her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crime.
When Mistachkin asked if Leslie understood that an Alford plea has the same legal effect as a regular guilty plea in terms of sentencing, Leslie answered, “Yes, your honor,” during the brief change of plea hearing.
The plea deal as described in court Monday between the state, represented by deputy prosecuting attorney Karleen Dorn, and Leslie’s attorney Bret Woody was for 60 days of confinement in the Grays Harbor County Jail, with a recommendation from the state that 30 days of that sentence be converted to 240 hours of community service, and the other 30 days converted to electronic home monitoring.
Second-degree attempted theft carries a standard sentencing range of up to 364 days in jail. Mistachkin explained to Leslie that he is not bound to follow the state’s recommended sentence when she will be officially sentenced the morning of July 12.
Leslie served as executive director of the chamber from January 2017 until she resigned July 1, 2019. Original charging documents said Leslie’s successor, McNall Mason, became aware of about $11,000 in missing chamber funds and involved the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office. According to Dorn’s charging documents, Mason determined that Leslie had written six extra unauthorized paychecks to herself in 2018 and 2019.
The Ocean Shores Chamber dissolved within months of Leslie’s resignation.
