A Maplewood woman who entered schools in Lake Elmo and Mahtomedi and ransacked teachers' purses for credit cards and checkbooks pleaded guilty Friday to two felony counts of financial fraud and identity theft.
Dawn Marie Rassett, 42, admitted to a series of illegal purchases at stores in Stillwater and Oak Park Heights last year. Police used high-quality images from store security cameras to track Rassett after complaints that she had evaded school security procedures to enter empty classrooms.
Several callers, including her employer, identified her after seeing published photographs from security tapes.
Records show that Rassett, under other names, has been convicted eight previous times in Minnesota for crimes such as credit card fraud, check forgery, burglary and receiving stolen property. She went to Shakopee women's prison in 2002 on convictions of forgery and burglary, records show.
Similar felony charges are pending against Rassett, under the name Dawn Marie Scott, in Ramsey County.
Washington County prosecutors agreed to drop a related felony charge of forgery and two misdemeanor counts of trespass and theft in Friday's agreement.
Judge Tom Armstrong set sentencing for Dec. 27 in Washington County District Court.
KEVIN GILES
