The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Suspect is in California
The case continues for Kristen Van Hoesen, the former executive director of the Office for Resource Efficiency (ORE) who has been charged with felony theft for misappropriating $4,200 in bonuses/back pay from the non-profit organization last summer. She is now scheduled to appear in Gunnison County Court next month.
Van Hoesen was charged with a Class 6 felony last week after an investigation by the Gunnison Police Department. She recently relocated to California and did not appear in court Tuesday morning.
Her attorney, Jackson Petito of Starr and Associates, was present and is confident Van Hoesen is innocent of the charge. “We cooperated fully with Det. Danos’ investigation and Kristen made herself available to be interviewed by him, an interview that took place this summer. She has nothing to hide. She is not guilty,” Petito said in a statement via email Tuesday evening. “She moved to California as a result of plans made before any of us learned of the investigation. We were shocked to learn that any charge was filed against her. Starr and Associates has accepted service of the summons on her behalf, and Kristen was not required to appear in person today and we are now awaiting discovery materials from the Prosecutor.”
A DNA sample and fingerprints are among the documents Van Hoesen has been ordered to provide on or before the January 13 hearing.
