Former store clerk sentenced for theft

A former Havre convenience store clerk received a two-year probationary sentence after she was caught stealing cash during her work shifts.

Dawn Denise Bowers, 24, of Havre pleaded guilty on Nov. 15 to the charges of theft by common scheme and deceptive practices by common scheme, both felonies. On Jan. 28, District Judge John Warner handed Bowers a two-year deferred imposition of sentence, which means the crime will be stricken from her record if she remains law-abiding during that time period.

Bowers will remain under the supervision of the Department of Corrections.

A cashier for four months at the Holiday gas station and convenience store in the 200 block of First Street West, Bowers stole a total of $1,001 from late August to November, according to a criminal complaint filed in court. During that time, when some customers paid cash for gas, Bowers pocketed the money and charged the gas bill to other individuals' credit cards that had been used earlier that day.

"It's just amazing people are coming up with that kind of stuff," Holiday manager Todd Boucher said today.

A man from Great Falls tipped Boucher off to Bowers' activity on Sept. 29, when he noticed his credit card had been charged with two transactions for a single purchase, court documents said. The man complained to Boucher on Nov. 9, and Boucher had received an identical complaint about the same time.

Upon further inspection of his credit card transactions, Boucher found 19 transactions he suspected were fraudulent, all during Bower's shifts, according to the criminal complaint.

Review of the store's video camera showed Bowers manually entering credit card numbers on the machine, the complaint said.