File unsealed in clerk theft case

SANDPOINT — The case against a former assistant clerk allegedly caught on video stealing money from the city of Clark Fork is snapping into sharper focus.

Sandra J. Brockus, a former assistant city clerk, was charged last month with two felony counts of misusing public funds, but her case file had been sealed until recently.

Brockus, according to the criminal complaint, stole an amount less than $300 on Nov. 14, 2008. She’s further charged with committing thefts twice in June of last year and a third on Halloween, the combined sum of which exceeded $300.

Clark Fork Mayor Tom Shields said last month Brockus was implicated in the theft of money the city collects from water customers. The missing money prompted the city to install surveillance equipment, which allegedly showed Brockus committing the thefts.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor James Frazier III told a judge last month that Brockus admitted committing the thefts when confronted by a sheriff’s deputy, according to court records.

Brockus’ Sandpoint attorney, Michael Waldrup, has filed court papers indicating his client intends to plead not guilty. A preliminary hearing on the charges is set for next month in the magistrate division of 1st District Court.

If Brockus, 38, is ordered to stand trial as charged and is convicted, she faces maximum prison sentences of five to 14 years in prison.

Brockus’ age was incorrectly stated in a previous story because the Idaho Statewide Trial Court Record System originally listed Brockus’ year of birth as 1990. Frazier has confirmed her year of birth is actually 1970 and the discrepancy has since been corrected in ISTARS, the electronic database for court records in Bonner County.