Kmart thief to spend 30-year probation repaying debt

PROVO — A 49-year-old woman will spend the next 30 years on probation as she works to pay off the $416,433.22 she stole from a Spanish Fork Kmart.

Teri Jex was sentenced Monday in 4th District Court on 10 felony counts, including communications fraud, identity fraud and forgery.

Utah County prosecutors charged Jex in February after store officials at the 900 Expressway Lane Kmart stumbled across financial discrepancies in the records.

Further investigation revealed that as an employee, Jex had been siphoning money from sales accounts and money orders for nearly 27 years, resulting in the monstrous amount of $416,433.

"You'll have to work probably more than one job and definitely more than full time to make a dent in this," Judge Samuel McVey told Jex. "Because it will be paid back. You'll be on probation a long time for this."

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys were pleased with the recommendation from Adult Probation and Parole, which evaluates individuals before they receive a sentence from the judge.

"We've reviewed the (pre-sentence report) and we think AP&P did a good job of writing that," said defense attorney Scott Williams. We agree with the recommendation."

Prosecutor Tim Barnes said he felt the report was also a good reflection of what the retailer wanted.

"Although there were multiple felony counts ... Kmart was most concerned with restitution," Barnes said. "If she went to prison, restitution wouldn't be paid."

Based on the charges — five second-degree felonies and five third-degree felonies — Jex could have spent the rest of her life in prison.

However, McVey suspended any prison sentences and jail time and ordered instead that Jex serve 180 days on the jail's GPS ankle monitoring system.

"It's beneficial to have somebody taken into jail for five days to find out what exactly it's going to be like long-term if they don't make the restitution payments," McVey said.

However, he said he was concerned about Jex's mental health issues and didn't want to disable her from working and paying restitution and nearly $1,400 in court fees.

Jex's competency was never questioned during the case, and her mental health issues are just daily issues she must deal with, Williams said.

The only time Jex spoke was to answer questions about her employment, which will begin in August. She also said she's looking for a second job.

Jex was sued in March by Kmart K mart in a civil suit, which should be resolved shortly, Williams said.

Calls to K mart's local attorney and media relations department were not immediately returned.

"I hope you're intimidated by this sentence," McVey said. "(Because) it will take a long time to be paid back. But it will be paid back."

---

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com