Suspect seeks to waive hearing

SANDPOINT — A Sagle woman accused of embezzling from the Panhandle Animal Shelter sought last Wednesday to waive her right to a preliminary hearing.

The waiver request was pending a sign-off by a Bonner County Magistrate Court judge. If the waiver is accepted, Dana Marie Braaten would be bound over to 1st District Court to stand trial on a charge of grand theft.

Braaten, 58, is free on her own recognizance while the case is pending. She has no prior criminal history in Idaho, according to the state Supreme Court Data Repository.

Braaten, a former bookkeeper, stole from the nonprofit shelter from to 2010 to 2012, the criminal complaint alleges. Braaten, according to a Ponderay Police report, admitted to shelter officials that she took nearly $8,000.

An independent audit of the shelter’s books, however, alleges Braaten misappropriated as much as $21,000, court documents indicate.