SKOWHEGAN — A Skowhegan woman convicted last year of stealing $22,000 from a family member is back in jail after she allegedly was found with more than 50 hypodermic needles and the results of a urine test showed she had methamphetamine and cocaine in her system.
Jaclyn Rutherford
On the suspicion that 29-year-old Jaclyn Rutherfordhad stolen more money from a family member, Skowhegan police Officer Tifani Warren accompanied a probation officer on a visit to Rutherford’s home Wednesday morning, according to Chief David Bucknam
After finding needles and other drug paraphernalia in the home, they ordered Rutherford to provide a urine sample. But while Rutherford was in the bathroom she tried to falsify the sample by “urinating in the toilet then filling the test kit with toilet water,” Bucknam said.
Rutherford has no income and has not been able to work since February 2016, when she suffered severe head trauma in a traffic accident in Oakland, according to police and court documents.
In November 2016, Rutherford stole $22,000 by prying open a family safe.
In January 2017 she was sentenced to serve six months in jail for the theft, followed by three years of probation. She also was ordered to pay restitution for the amount of stolen money she’d spent, $5,200.
Rutherford is being held without bail at the Somerset County Jail pending her court appearance this week on charges of falsifying physical evidence and illegal possession of hypodermic needles. It is unclear if she has a lawyer.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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