GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Saying a weeping 19-year-old Johanna Rae Taylor was “one of the least likely criminal types” he has dealt with, a Kent County judge spared the woman, who embezzled nearly $40,000 from Best Buy, jail time at sentencing Tuesday.

Taylor was employed at the Best Buy Store in Grand Rapids, and over a five-month period, she ordered items online then used her access at work to reduce the amount she paid to zero. She also stole cash and gift cards.

Taylor used this method 82 times to get more than $35,000 in items including appliances and electronics, according to police investigators. The former cashier was able to get away with $561 in gift cards and $3,644 in cash. The total amount she is charged with stealing is $39,654.

In Kent County Circuit Court, the attorney for the 2012 Wayland Union High School graduate told Judge Donald Johnston that more than $12,000 in unused, unopened items were returned to the store. Other adjustments were made to the final restitution amount, reducing it to $24,769.

“A number of the items were gifted to others without compensation,” said defense attorney James McEwen. He said there is no evidence she sold the items for cash. The attorney did not address where the items were stored or what his client did with the more than $3,600 in cash.

“I know what I did was wrong and downright stupid,” Taylor told the judge as she wiped away tears and apologized to all who were impacted by her actions.

Johnston sentenced the woman to three years of probation under the terms of the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act which allows a first-time offender younger than 21 to have a felony conviction kept off their record if they abide by the terms specified by the court.

Taylor was charged with embezzlement of $20,000 to $50,000 – a felony punishable by 10 years in prison. In August, she pleaded to a lesser charge that reduced the maximum penalty to five years as long as she agreed to reimburse the company.

The Western Michigan University student had no prior record and was fully cooperative in the investigation, according to the Kent County Prosecutor’s office.

Related: Teen Best Buy employee admits to stealing nearly $40,000 using online scheme

Johnston ordered her to pay the restitution within three years, complete 200 hours of work crew in 90 days or face 120 days in the Kent County Jail. The restitution amount has to be repaid regardless of whether she does jail time.

If Taylor complies with the orders she will not have a felony record as long as she is never convicted of another crime. That means she would not have to disclose the felony when applying for a job.

“You don’t seem generally disposed toward criminal conduct,” Johnston said while explaining his sentencing decision.

E-mail Barton Deiters: bdeiters@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/GRPBarton or Facebook at facebook.com/bartondeiters.5