SUBLETTE COUNTY – A Uinta County special prosecutor filed a misdemeanor theft charge against a former Sublette County deputy after an investigation by a Jackson Police detective.

Lyndy K. Guenther, 45 this year and of Pinedale, told the detective she offered to replace a Frigidaire side-by-side damaged while she was renting a one-bedroom apartment from landlord John Whetstone, of Pinedale.

Guenther was employed by the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office as a school resource officer.

Whetstone told Jackson detective Amanda White that Guenther rented the apartment beginning in September 2022 and while he and his wife were gone this past June and July, Guenther gave them a month’s notice that she was moving.

They all agreed her last day would be July 19, according to the affidavit. That day, Guenther texted that she moved out of the apartment but had damaged the refrigerator with an estimated value of about $1,500, it says. She allegedly removed the damaged refrigerator and Whetstone said Guenther refused to bring it back, it says.

Guenther told the detective on July 28 that she had tried to replace the damaged fridge but it wouldn’t be delivered on time, it says. Guenther also told White the Whetstones could keep her $1,500 security deposit and if it cost more to replace, she would pay them, it says.

Guenther declined to state what happened to the fridge except that she dismantled it and disposed of it, according to the affidavit.

On Nov. 16, special prosecutor Loretta H. Kallas, of Uinta County, filed a misdemeanor theft charge against Guenther. It states between the dates of June 20 and July 19, “the defendant knowingly took the property of another person, a refrigerator belonging to John Whetstone, without authorization and knowingly disposed of the property” – valued at less than $1,000 – in a way that deprived the owner of its use.

Guenther’s arraignment is at 11 a.m. on Dec. 1. Maximum penalties are 6 months in jail and $750 fine.