FAYETTE COUNTY — A Kansas woman arrested in March on a criminal warrant has been convicted of felony theft in northern Iowa.
According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Ashley Calhound Harper, 39, of Wichita, Kansas, was arrested on March 22, 2026, on a valid Fayette County warrant for Theft 1st Degree, a Class C felony, and Violation of Compulsory Education 1st Offense, a simple misdemeanor.
Harper was transported to the Fayette County Jail, where she received an initial appearance in court. Authorities said she was held on a $20,000 cash-only bond. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas.
Court records in State of Iowa vs. Ashley Calhoun Harper, case number FECR074690 in Fayette County, show the case was filed on April 8, 2025, following an investigation by the Oelwein Police Department.
The original charge in the case was Theft 1st Degree, a Class C felony, with an offense date listed as February 5, 2025.
Court records show Harper entered a guilty plea on April 28, 2026, to an amended charge of Theft 2nd Degree, a Class D felony. The plea was accepted by Judge Alan Thomas Heavens.
Harper (pictured at top) was sentenced on April 28, 2026, to a prison term not to exceed 15 years, with that prison sentence suspended. Court records also list a three-year minimum sentence, five years of probation and placement in a residential facility for up to one year or until maximum benefits are reached.
Court records also show a DNA requirement was ordered as part of the sentence.