Case proceeds for woman accused of withdrawing other people’s money

A 55-year-old New York woman who police said tried to withdraw $5,000 from another person’s Wells Fargo bank account in Hayden last autumn was bound over to district court.

Michelle Suzanne Harris was arrested in October for theft, burglary, grand theft and possession of prescription medications without a prescription.

She was released after paying a $20,000 bond and seemed to have absconded. A Coeur d’Alene magistrate judge issued a warrant for Harris’s arrest, but she showed up for hearings this month and an order to quash the warrant was filed.

Harris agreed Thursday to waive her preliminary hearing — which is used to determine if enough probable cause is available to send the case to district court, where felonies are heard.

An arraignment date has not yet been scheduled.

Suspicious bank employees thought Harris was using a fake Pennsylvania driver’s license Oct. 24 when they called police. Deputies learned Harris may have illegally withdrawn at least $15,000 in cash from other people’s accounts as she traveled from Manhattan to Seattle.

According to a report, Harris told deputies she was HIV positive and needed the money to pay for medication. She said a man at a motel recruited her to steal money from bank accounts, but authorities could not verify if there was another suspect.

Police confiscated a variety of prescription drugs, a ledger, a bank check for $5,500 and a cellphone from Harris, who also allegedly told investigators it was “my first time taking money from banks.”