Casino thief pleads guilty

One of the three women who is charged with stealing money from a Rocky Boy casino has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of theft from an Indian gaming establishment.

Maria Rose Newton, 34 at the time of the burglary, of La Junta, Colorado, has her sentencing scheduled for Jan. 28 at 10 a.m. at the Missouri River Federal Courthouse in Great Falls.

She and two other women, Amber Nicole Wells, 30 at the time of the burglary, of La Junta, Colorado, and Melinda Maria Descharm, 25, of Box Elder, were each charged with theft from an Indian gaming establishment after stealing more than $1,000 from the casino on Jan. 20, 2013.

Wells’ change of plea hearing is scheduled for Jan. 6 at 2:30 p.m. at the federal courthouse. Descharm was sentenced Nov. 19, to time served and three years probation and ordered to pay $8,250 jointly with her co-defendants, as well as a $100 special assessment.

Descharm was arrested Aug. 12 in Iowa, and Wells and Newton were arrested Oct. 1.