Lohmiller ordered to pay restitution to county
Former county employee sentenced to house arrest - refuses to wear bracelet
By Debbie Lowe Staff writer

Lohmiller

Special judge Linley Pearson sentenced former county employee Rebecca D. Lohmiller Sept. 13 for her Class C felony convictions of forgery and Class B misd emeanor convictions of practicing nursing without a license. She was pronounced guilty by verdict in May. An appeal was filed that day by defense attorney Anne Briggs.

Lohmiller was sentenced to two years on house arrest and two years on supervised probation. She was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device on her ankle for home detention, which was to be monitored by the White County Community Corrections Program.

According to a letter from that program's deputy director Tom Pritts dated Sept. 14, Lohmiller stated she was allergic to the rubber-like material in the bracelet and refused to wear the device.

"At Ms. Lohmillers' request she was given a strap to wear around her wrist in order to check for any type of allergic reaction," the letter stated. "Within the hour Ms. Lohmiller notified me that she had an allergic reaction and that this office needed to find an alternative form of Home Detention."

Home detention bracelet This home detention monitoring device is used by Carroll County's Home Detention Program. County Prosecutor Tricia Thompson's understanding of the electronically-monitored home detention program is that the offender wears the wireless device on the ankle. A box is placed in the home that monitors the presence of the offender via the wireless device. Comet photo by Debbie Lowe

Pritts stated his office did not have an alternative, therefore Lohmiller was released from the White County program back to Carroll County.

Carroll County Prosecutor Tricia Thompson filed a motion Sept. 17 requesting the defendant "be ordered to serve her executed sentence in the Department of Corrections."

Pearson signed an order Sept. 17 that stated in part, "If the defendant refuses to be on electronic monitoring she will be incarcerated. The court now ORDERS the Defendant to execute her sentence at the Department of Corrections if she does not wear the monitor beginning Sept. 24, 2007."

Lohmiller was employed by Carroll County as the public health nurse from November 1999 to Oct. 1, 2004. She was formally charged with six felony and 21 misdemeanor counts Aug. 3, 2005, by then prosecutor, Rob Ives.

Sentences would run concurrently, meaning at the same time. Each felony conviction holds a four-year penalty in the Indiana Department of Corrections and each misdemeanor conviction a sentence of 180 days in the Carroll County Jail.

Pearson ordered the convicted felon to pay $25,000 in restitution to the county for wages she earned during her employment, but was not entitled to without a nursing license.

"It's a fair amount, but not an exact amount," Pearson told Lohmiller.

He explained the sum was approximately one-fourth of what she made during her employment with the county.

Pearson told Lohmiller she was to pay the Carroll County clerk's office equal monthly installments of $520.83 for 48 months, the term of her sentence. Lohmiller is also responsible for court costs and monthly probation fees.

Pearson said in the event Lohmiller violated conditions of probation, she would be held in jail without the possibility of bond and could be ordered to serve any portion of her sentence in the DOC. He said if the probation department discovered that she violated probation for a year after being released from the program, Lohmiller would be in violation and would suffer the consequences of her behavior.

"You can't do anything - absolutely nothing - without permission from probation," Pearson emphasized. Carroll County Commissioners' President Loren Hylton was present for the sentencing.

"I would have liked to have seen full restitution," he said after the hearing, "but she did serve in some capacity."

"She's losing a lot of freedom by being on house arrest," he continued. "She's going to be tied down with electronic monitoring."

"We're very fortunate that nothing did happen and we didn't have a lawsuit against the county," Pearson said ending the court appearance.