Wuorinen granted early release

By RALPH ANSAMI

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Hurley — A 48-year-old Ironwood woman was ordered released from jail Wednesday morning after serving 71 days of a one-year sentence for identity theft.

Iron County Judge Patrick Madden cited new information in the case from two doctors in modifying the sentence of Wendy Wuorinen.

Defense attorney James McKenzie successfully argued that Wuorinen should be released early and Madden granted McKenzie’s motion. McKenzie said information about Wuorinen’s mental condition “was not really known by the court at the time of sentencing.”

Wuorinen had previously entered a guilty plea to a single felony, under an agreement that 25 other felonies would be dropped, but read into the record.

She withdrew around $7,613 from a customer’s account at the Iron County Community Credit Union in Kimball in ongoing thefts, drawing the original one-year sentence, with work release privileges.

A pre-sentence investigation had recommended no prison time. Madden said that PSI report had “glossed over” a new factor in the case, documents from two doctors who had treated the defendant.

Madden said he had read “every word” in the documents. He said he had to follow Wisconsin law in granting the motion to vacate the remainder of the jail sentence.

Iron County District Attorney Matt Tingstad argued the legal case cited by McKenzie referred to “unduly harsh” sentences, but that was not what the defense was arguing about in referring to the new documents.

“I feel the sentence was appropriate,” Tingstad said.

The wife of the victim in the case noted each count carried up to a possible six years in prison and said her family continues to “suffer damage and grief” from the thefts.

She said she had not received a written apology from Wuorinen, but a probation officer attending the hearing said a letter of apology was in the mail.

The defendant’s daughter and sister told the court they believe she had “suffered enough.”

Madden said he realized the case had affected many people and a financial institution, but he had to balance the scales of justice and follow the law, citing the 2004 case referred to in McKenzie’s motion to modify the sentence.

At the sentencing hearing, McKenzie said Wuorinen had been seeing a doctor since March of 2016 because she has had trouble coping with her daughter’s death several years ago.

The three years of probation in the original sentence will continue.