Anne Marie Baker, the 57-year-old Centralia woman accused of embezzling $1.4 million from a former employer over a seven-year period, pleaded not guilty to all 25 counts of felony theft in Lewis County Superior Court Thursday afternoon.
Judge J. Andrew Toynbee presided over the matter.
During the arraignment, defense attorney Christopher Taylor, of CR Taylor Law, P.S., asked for Baker’s conditions of release to be amended to allow for travel throughout the entire state, along with the consumption of alcohol — so long as it didn’t violate any criminal laws.
According to the written motion, the expanded travel permittance would allow Baker to “fully engage with her family support network, not just those located in Western Washington.”
The written motion also indicated that Baker has a “history of consuming alcohol responsibly in settings, and there are no facts alleged in this case that suggest alcohol played a role in this case. Removing this condition would not materially affect the purposes for which conditions of release were established.”
Toynbee agreed to the amended conditions of release, “based on the agreement of the parties.”
Taylor then acknowledged receipt of the information, waived a formal reading, and entered not guilty pleas for each of the 25 felony counts levied against Baker, to which Baker agreed.
A trial setting was scheduled for Sept. 25 at 2:30 p.m.
Baker, previously known as Anne Marie Garrett, is out of custody after posting a $100,000 bail. She was first arrested Aug. 1. The former accountant and office manager for Schwiesow Construction Inc. allegedly forged 221 checks from Aug. 1, 2019, through Aug. 1, 2025.
She was laid off by the company in May, according to court documents.
The affidavit of probable cause filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office listed a breakdown of how much was allegedly stolen each year:
For more coverage on Baker’s initial arrest and preliminary appearance, visit https://tinyurl.com/e52kjk2b.
