BYU-Idaho student facing 6 felonies strikes plea deal - East Idaho News
Crime Watch

BYU-Idaho student facing 6 felonies strikes plea deal

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REXBURG — A Brigham Young University-Idaho student who used a roommate’s financial card to make unauthorized purchases pleaded guilty Wednesday to amended charges.

Earlier this month, police arrested 22-year-old Eilis Samantha Murphy, a student from Australia. She was charged with six felony counts of criminal possession of a financial transaction card. Madison County Prosecutors amended the charges to three misdemeanor counts of petit theft as part of Wednesday’s plea agreement

RELATED: BYU-I student arrested after using roommate’s debit card without her knowledge, police say

Rexburg Police Chief Shane Turman told EastIdahoNews.com Murphy took the roommate’s credit or debit card and purchased several hundred dollars of items at Target in Idaho Falls. The purchases included multiple pairs of shoes and video game-related items. Charging documents indicate several other purchases made at Taco Bell and a local gas station.

In the plea agreement, Murphy agreed to pay restitution to the victim as well as to the University Bookstore in an uncharged theft. The full restitution amount has not been calculated but could be upwards of $2,800, according to Madison County Prosecutors.

The court is not held to sentencing recommendations in the plea agreement, however, prosecutors write they intend to recommend a term of unsupervised probation.

Murphy will be sentenced at a later date, and will likely be returned to Australia once her sentence is complete.

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