EVERETT – An Everett City Council candidate pleaded guilty this week to stealing a few bottles of chocolate milk worth $3.18 from an Everett supermarket.
Shawna Forde, 39, was ordered by an Everett Municipal Court judge to attend a theft awareness class.
She is running against Everett Councilman Drew Nielsen. Because there are only two candidates in the race, Forde and Nielsen will face off in the general election in November.
The charges stem from her arrest on Jan. 31 at the QFC at 2615 Broadway.
A QFC clerk told police that he followed Forde around the supermarket after he saw blue bottle caps sticking out of a front pocket on her jacket. He said he confronted her as she tried to exit an in-store Starbucks with the unpaid merchandise.
Forde disputes his description, saying she was greeting a friend at the coffee shop and never concealed the bottles. She also said she planned on paying for the chocolate milk.
Forde is the founder of Minutemen American Defense, a border-security advocacy group affiliated with the national Minuteman Project.
“The only reason I settled is because I’m shooting a documentary for my country,” said Forde, who plans to work on the film on illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border this fall. “I don’t care (about the charges). I am way too busy nationally to worry about this.”
Because Forde is running for the City Council, the Everett city attorney requested Mount Vernon’s city attorneyhandle the case.
In addition to mandatory theft awareness classes, Municipal Court Pro Tem Judge Erica Temple also ordered Forde to pay $609 in court fees and fines and must not commit any criminal violations in the next year.
Failure to follow these orders could result in up to a year of jail time, according to court papers.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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