STERLING — Almost a year after her first arrest, 41-year-old Sterling resident Marianne Marcum received a sentence of four years of community corrections after pleading guilty to identity theft and criminal possession of a financial device.

The court found that the local mother — who was arrested after a series of incidents in which the court says she stole credit cards and defrauded local businesses out of thousands in merchandise — had acted out to feed a methamphetamine addiction.

Marcum was first arrested in June 2012, but at her peak she faced 26 charges against her over three district court and one county court case; 15 of those were for identity theft.

“She had an addiction to feed, bills to pay and did what she did,” said Deputy Public Defender Stacy Shobe.

She said Marcum had battled the addiction off and on and stayed clean for two years before becoming addicted again.

According to arrest records, in January Marcum was ultimately arrested on five warrants for failure to appear in court stemming from these cases.

But Shobe said she’s since been trying to better herself, joining groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

Both she and Deputy District Attorney Travis Sides agreed that community corrections was the best choice — and was also recommended after a pre-sentence investigation — but Sides said a prison sentence would have also been “a viable option.”

Chief District Judge Michael Singer said Marcum’s daughter remained complimentary of her abilities as a mom. But he said a number of charges had been dismissed in the case and that Marcum appeared to have a history.

She’ll head to Larimer County Community Corrections and receive 190 days credit for time served at the jail. She will also have to pay restitution; a hearing will be held at a later date to determine the amount.