FAIRMONT — A Sherburn woman is facing a felony charge in Martin County.

Alisa Marie Petersen, 27, has been charged with theft, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the complaint:

On Jan. 24, a Fairmont police officer was contacted by the loss prevention officer for Kum & Go stores. The man said that during the past few days he had conducted an investigation over a theft that had occurred at Kum & Go in Sherburn.

The man explained that a store employee, Petersen, had been taking money from the cash registers at the store while working. He indicated the thefts began on Dec. 25 and continued until Jan. 20.

The shortages all occurred during Petersen’s shifts when she was the cashier and had access to the registers. Records show Petersen took $3,987 during this period of time.

The man said he conducted an interview of Peterson on Jan. 21. He said she admitted to taking the money from the cash register because her family was short on money. Peterson told the man she did not know how much she had taken, but all of the money was now gone.

On Jan. 27, the officer was contacted by the manager of the Kum & Go store and advised that Petersen had left a note for her. In the note, Petersen admitted to taking the money from the register.

The officer later met with Petersen at her residence in Sherburn. During the subsequent interview, Petersen admitted to taking the money.

The officer explained that the total for the theft was about $4,000 and asked her if that was about how much she thought she had taken. Petersen said she was unsure but that was probably right.