A woman who stole a donation box from a Lafayette Avenue business earlier this year pleaded guilty to the crime Thursday.
Michelle Elaine Atwell pleaded guilty to one count of petit larceny in Marshall County Magistrate Court for stealing a donation box from the Huddle House, 407 Lafayette Ave., in August.
On Thursday, Atwell was sentenced to 90 days in jail as part of the plea agreement.
The box had been placed by the cash register of the restaurant to collect money for an employee who has a 1-year-old son battling leukemia. Restaurant owners said the employee was a single mother whose only job was at the restaurant.
They said the employee had to spend several days at a time in Cleveland with her son which did not allow her to work. Despite having the box stolen, employees of the restaurant said they would continue to help raise money for their coworker.
Though an exact amount of how much was taken in the theft, restaurant owners estimated anywhere between $300 and $400 could have been inside.
That information, as well as surveillance footage of the incident, was turned over to the Moundsville Police Department, which investigated the incident and arrested Atwell in October.
