Woman sentenced for taking meter-reader scooter

A transient who stole a Missoula meter-reader scooter and took it on a brief joyride before crashing it into a parked car has been sentenced to a year under the supervision of the Department of Corrections. District Judge Dusty Deschamps sentenced 43-year-old Carey Sterling on Tuesday. However, he ordered her to remain jailed until she can pay $500 in restitution and $240 in court costs.

Sterling has been in custody since her arrest in May on the felony theft charge. She was unemployed at the time of her arrest.

Sterling told the judge she is eligible for about $3,000 in benefits that she hasn't applied for, partly because she hadn't lived in one place long enough to file the paperwork and because she has been in jail.