Woman pleads guilty to stealing money from Boardman car dealership

YOUNGSTOWN — The New Middletown woman accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Boardman auto dealership has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that could land her in prison for up to five years.

Debra L. Chance, 40, of Kerrywood Street, appeared today before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for a pretrial hearing. Chance previously had been indicted on one count of aggravated theft, a second-degree felony.

Chance, in a plea agreement with prosecutors, agreed to plead guilty to aggravated theft in the third degree. The third-degree felony can carry a five-year prison sentence. A second-degree felony carries a maximum eight-year sentence.

Prosecutors will recommend Chance be sentenced to four years in prison on the felony theft conviction. She will be sentenced Feb. 8.

Chance is believed to have stolen between $500,000 and $1 million from The Honda Store on Boardman-Canfield Road. The alleged thefts are believed to have taken place between Sept. 1, 2005, and April 30, 2009.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com