Bench warrant issued for Wheeler woman charged with stealing money from Bridge Stop
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A bench warrant has been issued in Dunn County for a 25-year-old woman charged with theft in connection with stealing nearly $21,000 from the Bridge Stop gas station in Wheeler.
Nicole Poach was scheduled for a court appearance before Judge Christina Mayer on November 2, but while Poach’s attorney, Michael Fairchild, appeared in court, Poach was absent.
Dunn County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Maki asked the court to issue a bench warrant for Poach’s arrest, and while Judge Mayer authorized the bench warrant, she put a stay on the warrant until Monday, November 8, at 8 a.m., according to online court records.
Poach is charged with one felony count of theft in an amount between $5,000 and $10,000.
Her first initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court on November 10, 2020, was adjourned until December 8 to give Poach an opportunity to hire an attorney.
Judge Rod Smeltzer set bail with a $300 signature bond during the November of 2020 court hearing with the condition that Poach not have any contact with the Bridge Stop in Wheeler.
The December 8 initial appearance was adjourned to February 2, 2021, because Poach told the court she still wanted an attorney to represent her.
The February 2 initial appearance was adjourned to March 2 after Poach told the court she did, in fact, have an attorney to represent her, although the attorney did not appear in court with her.
At the March 2 hearing, Poach requested the hearing be continued to a later date, and Judge Smeltzer granted the request to give Poach time to hire an attorney.
At an April 20 hearing, Poach appeared in court without an attorney and told the court she would like an attorney to represent her.
The court received a notice of retainer on June 30 that Poach would be represented by Attorney Michael Fairchild.
According to the criminal complaint, the owner of the Bridge Stop gas station in Wheeler had contacted the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department in September of 2020 to say that a former employee, Nicole Poach, was suspected of taking money from the business over the past year.
Poach allegedly provided cash refunds to herself and would take the cash, and at the time the sheriff’s department was contacted, about $12,000 in missing money had been identified, although more money was still in the process of being identified, the complaint states.
When an investigator with the sheriff’s department spoke to Poach, the defendant admitted to theft totaling $20,962.92 from the Bridge Stop.
The money was stolen from the Bridge Stop through false refunds that had occurred during the time Poach was employed from June of 2019 to September of 2020, according to the complaint.
