SUGARCREEK BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — A Franklin woman accused of forging a signature on employment termination documents waived her preliminary hearing recently.

According to court documents, Shawna M. Odell, 28, of Franklin, has waived one first-degree misdemeanor count of Forgery — Unauthorized Act In Writing.

The charges have been transferred to the Venango County Court of Common Pleas.

Odell remains free on $5,000.00 unsecured bail.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, the Lieutenant Ashbaugh of the Sugarcreek Borough Police Department received a complaint from a known victim that her name had been forged on a Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare employment termination form for Shawna Odell.

According to the complaint, Lt. Ashbaugh spoke with Odell who denied any knowledge of the forged document.

Lt. Ashbaugh then sent the form as well as other known writing samples to a Pennsylvania State Police Forensic Lab for analysis.

Following testing, Odell was interviewed again and admitted to signing the victim’s name to the form without permission, according to the criminal complaint.

Odell was arraigned on Friday, August 31, in Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey’s office.