A Morganton woman will spend five to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple criminal offenses and admitting her status as a habitual felon during Burke County Superior Court on Monday, June 24, 2019.
Jamesha Nakema Corpening, 42, was given the active prison term by the Honorable Louis A. Trosch, Superior Court Judge from Mecklenburg County, following her guilty pleas to breaking/entering, obtaining property by false pretense, two counts of felony larceny and two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
She will serve her period of incarceration in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
Corpening’s sentence length was enhanced by her habitual felon status stemming from prior convictions for obtaining property by false pretense (March 2011) and financial card theft (March 2014), both in Burke County, and obtaining property by false pretense (November 2016) in Alamance County.
Investigators from Morganton Department of Public Safety investigated a string of crimes committed by Corpening during the last four months of 2018.
On Sept. 19, 2018, Corpening stole a cellular phone from an individual at a Morganton business. Later that day, she entered another business and deposited the phone in an eco-ATM system in exchange for cash.
A week later, the garage door of a local business was pried open, a cash register, jewelry, checkbooks, cash and a .22-caliber pistol were taken. Corpening was later identified as a suspect and admitted to her involvement in the crime.
On October 4, 2018, Corpening stole a Honda Accord from a Burke County resident. A day later, she was stopped in possession of the car, which had been reported stolen. The defendant had been at the victim’s house a week earlier asking for money, but he did not know her.
Corpening stole a Toyota Camry belonging to a 71-year-old Burke County woman on December 17, 2018. The defendant was spotted the next day with the vehicle. She also had other personal items belonging to the victim in her possession.
Investigators Kyle Goforth and Ryan Stotts handled the cases for the Morganton Department of Public Safety. Jonathan Greer prosecuted the matters for the District Attorney’s Office.
CONTACT: Nathan Key
Phone: 828-695-6193
Email: Nathan.D.Key@nccourts.org