Local woman accused of embezzlement

PONDERAY — A former Walmart employee was arrested Sunday for skimming bills from the stores tills.

KateLyn Dawn Blankenship is charged with grand theft and burglary.

The charges followed an investigation by the store’s asset protection team. Blankenship admitted the thefts, some of which were captured on the store’s surveillance cameras, according to a Ponderay Police affidavit.

Blankenship is accused of slipping $50 and $100 bills into her coat sleeve. All told, Blankenship is accused of stealing $3,080 from Sept. 1 to Sept. 25, according to the affidavit.

Blankenship, 19, made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court via videoconferencing with the jail. Judge O. Lynn Brower set Blankenship’s bail at $3,000 and appointed a public defender to represent her, court records indicate.