Montgomery Ordered Into Work Program

Woman Forged Service Hours

Thursday, December 13, 2012

— A Rogers woman drew the ire of the judge, the deputy prosecutor and her own attorney Wednesday.

Janice Montgomery, 56, appeared in court for a hearing concerning revoking her probation. She was accused of forging 297 hours of community service. Montgomery falsified information between April and August at the Rogers Wellness Center, according to court documents.

At A Glance

Montgomery’s Case

Janice Montgomery was placed on probation in 2011 after pleading guilty to furnishing false or fraudulent material information in prescription, a Class C felony. An employee at Walgreens Pharmacy on Walnut Street in Rogers called police concerning a person with a fraudulent prescription.

Source: Staff Report

Montgomery was placed on four years of state-supervised probation in August 2011. She also was ordered to work 60 days within a year in the Benton County Work program.

Montgomery admitted falsifying the hours at Wednesday’s hearing.

“You are acknowledging those hours were not performed?” Circuit Judge Jon Comstock asked Montgomery.

“Yes,” she replied.

“It’s quite brazen,” Doug Norwood, the attorney representing Montgomery, told Comstock. “I’ve never had a case quite like this.”

Deputy Prosecutor A.J. Anglin told the court he would defer to Comstock when it came to Montgomery’s punishment, but Anglin wanted the court to impose some consequence.

Norwood informed the court of his client’s mental health issues and other health problems, but said Comstock needed to impose some sentence.

“It has to be some punishment because of how brazen it is,” Norwood said.

Comstock found Montgomery in contempt of court, but didn’t revoke her probation.

Comstock told Montgomery she was getting “a real break.”

Anglin told the court Montgomery completed about 80 hours of community service before the falsifying of time began. Anglin mentioned giving Montgomery credit for the hours she did complete. Norwood was against that.

Comstock gave Montgomery the credit, which amounted to 10 days. He ordered Montgomery to complete the 50 days of service from the original sentence and then complete 60 additional days in the work program. She must complete the 110 days within the next two years.