Petaluma woman sentenced to a year for wildfire looting

A Petaluma woman was sentenced to a year in jail Friday for stealing from October wildfire evacuees and using their credit cards.

Katie Lehnhard, 31, was arrested Oct. 16 when her victim notified police of fraudulent charges against her bank account and provided a canceled check to police.

Police searched Lehnhard’s home and found stolen items including IDs, credit cards and checkbooks from the victim as well as other people staying at area shelters. Some of the items also appeared to be looted from burned neighborhoods.

The sentence was part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

“I remind you, this was a terrible breach of trust,” Judge Dana Simonds told Lehnhard before handing down the sentence, which included hundreds of dollars in restitution. “You were taking advantage of people at the worst hour possible.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.