COEUR d'ALENE - The former chief deputy clerk for Kootenai County, who has been charged with stealing money from the county, has waived her right to a preliminary hearing and been bound over to First District Court.

Sandra Kay Martinson, 62, of Post Falls, also was given until March 23 to file a written plea to a felony grand theft charge. A plea was to be due today, until First District Judge Fred M. Gibler on Monday allowed more time, according to court documents.

If she files a not guilty plea, the court will then set the case for pre-trial and trial.

Martinson, reached by phone Tuesday, declined comment. Her attorney, Frederick G. Loats, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

In court documents, Loats asked for two additional weeks to file the written plea because he needed more time to complete his investigation.

Coeur d'Alene police say Martinson allegedly stole more than $130,000 in county funds from a District Court account during a 10-year period. She was a county employee for more than 30 years, with an ending salary of about $65,000.

County officials said when Martinson retired late last year, auditors undertook a routine review of her records and discovered "irregularities" that led them to suspect embezzlement.

Police said there were more than 210 checks Martinson allegedly wrote to herself with county funds, signing the checks with former Kootenai County Clerk-Auditor Dan English's signature stamp, which she kept in her desk. She deposited the checks into her personal U.S. Bank account, at the branch on Sherman Avenue.

According to a police report filed in court, Martinson told police that financial stress was the reason for the alleged thefts.

She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007, the same year her husband lost his job. He worked as a logger for $30,000 per year.

Police said the thefts dated back to 2000.

Martinson reportedly told police that credit card debt and medical bills were the primary sources of financial troubles. She said her medical bills added up to about $2,000 to $3,000 per month.

She said the medical condition caused her to retire a year and a half before she wanted to.

She also told police that some of the allegedly stolen funds were spent on a drag racing car she called her "third child."

She spent a greater amount of the allegedly stolen money on travel expenses related to the drag racing.

She told police she got into trouble at U.S. Bank with overdraft fees on her private account, sometimes racking up hundreds of dollars in fees.

She said she and her husband owed more than $90,000 on their home, and about $22,000 on credit cards, at the time she was interviewed by police late last year.

When asked by police what gave her the idea to take money from the county, "She said it was because it might be easy. She also confirmed that she was in a role that allowed her to not have to really fool anyone," according to a police report.