The State - News from Sept. 17, 1986

A second woman has been sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years probation in the theft and fraudulent cashing of a winning California Lottery ticket worth $5,000. Gerry Lee O’Neill, 36, of McKinleyville, was sentenced by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Allen Fields. Her friend, Sharyn Jefferson, a former employee at lottery headquarters, received the same sentence earlier this month. Court papers said Jefferson intercepted a winning ticket which had been sent in by registered mail, erased the owner’s name and wrote in O’Neill’s name. O’Neill then got a $5,000 check for the ticket and cashed it. The women were arrested after officials spotted the erasure. Lottery spokesman Robert Taylor said Jefferson is the first lottery employee to be convicted of a felony.