PTA Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Forgery

Heidi Maclean Andrews, the former Tijeras Creek PTA treasurer who was , pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor forgery charge.

She was ordered to pay $9,895 in restitution, perform 120 hours of community service and serve three years of probation. She was also banned from the campus and barred from holding PTA or booster club positions at any school, according to the district attorney's office.

Andrews' attorney, Dyke Huish, said his client pleaded guilty only "to bring peace to the community." At Wednesday's court hearing, Huish didn't endorse Andrews' plea, a rare move, "because I don't think she is guilty," he said.

"Heidi's a good person," Huish added, noting that felony charges of grand theft and forgery were dropped as part of the plea deal.

Huish conceded "mistakes were made" in Andrews' bookkeeping methods -- some checks intended for others were deposited into her account -- but insisted all the funds in question eventually went to the right recipients. Nothing was stolen, he said.

The alleged thefts took place between 2007 and 2009. To read more about Andrews, a longtime educator, and the case, .