After stealing more than $26,000 from her employer last year, a Cody woman quickly apologized, then began working new jobs so she could pay all the money back.

By the time she was sentenced this month, 38-year-old Terra Kunz was able to make full restitution — a move that drew the praise of District Judge Bill Simpson.

“[We] get a lot of people who tell us they’re sorry, but they don’t make any effort to pay restitution, so it makes me wonder how sorry they are,” the judge told Kunz, “but you, you’ve done it, and I appreciate that.”

Following the terms of a plea agreement, Simpson sentenced her to three years of unsupervised probation. It’s in addition to the two-and-a-half months she served in jail following her initial arrest.

Working to make amends

Kunz had been serving as the manager of Rocky Mountain Discount Liquor and Lounge in April 2025, when she reportedly pocketed multiple days of earnings instead of depositing them in the store’s bank account. She later texted one of the store’s owners expressing remorse and saying she deserved “everything that I have coming my way.”

As part of a plea deal reached last August, Kunz agreed to plead guilty to a felony count of theft, while Park County prosecutors agreed to recommend probation. However, the deal was conditioned on Kunz repaying the full $26,833.68 at the time of sentencing.

It took her longer than expected to gather the money, and when she didn’t have it all in March, Simpson required Kunz to drive to the Park County Courthouse from her new residence in Sheridan to make a partial payment of $21,117. 

She had the remainder in-hand for her June 8 hearing.

Kunz’s efforts to make amends were recognized by her old boss, former Rocky Mountain Discount Liquor co-owner Brandon McArtor.

“I am impressed with the way that Ms. Kunz has handled herself after this,” McArtor said. “I don’t know if that’s important or not to her, but I do appreciate her actions after the fact.”

Kunz nodded in response to his remark, indicating it was important.

“I know it’s not something that you can never forgive me for, but I truly am deeply sorry,” she told McArtor later. “You were a wonderful boss to me, an amazing person, and I definitely took advantage of that, and that will forever be my biggest regret through all of this.

“It’s not something that will ever leave me,” Kunz added.

She reportedly told Cody police last year that she gambled away most of the money at a Riverton casino, initially believing she’d be able to pay it back before anyone noticed. In a text last year, Kunz reportedly said she “got caught up with some people and got myself in a situation I felt I couldn’t get out of thinking I was helping someone.”

An earlier, bigger theft

Simpson said he knew the theft was “devastating” to McArtor and Rocky Mountain Discount Liquor. He praised McArtor’s compassion and empathy — and also praised the way the McArtor family operated its Cody businesses and treated its employees over a period of decades.

Simpson noted that a similar theft was discovered at the liquor store in 2024, and “I know it must be very frustrating,” he said.

In that earlier instance, Kunz’s predecessor, longtime manager Julie Harvey, stole $193,267 over a period of several years by covertly pocketing the store’s proceeds from gaming machines. 

Harvey also received three years of probation for her larger theft. She reportedly suffers from health issues and served only a few hours in jail, while Kunz served 78 days in custody before making bail.

Harvey received a $132,000 retirement payout from her former employer while her criminal case was pending, but reportedly used most of the funds to pay off bills, leaving $26,500 on hand for restitution at her April 2024 sentencing. She’s been paying $75 a month since then toward her six-figure balance, which makes it unlikely the debt will ever be fully repaid.

‘A courageous person’

At her sentencing hearing this month, Kunz asked if she could have the felony conviction come off her record when her probation is complete, but that isn’t an option under her plea agreement. Judge Simpson said he believed she would have been a good candidate for a deferred prosecution agreement, “but that’s not my call.”

At another point in the hearing, Simpson described Kunz as a good person who’d made a mistake.

“You know, we’re all flawed creatures,” the judge added, “We all have these issues in our lives, and all we can do is the best we can, try to accommodate, apologize for what we’ve done, and move on. 

“And you’ve done that,” Simpson told the defendant.

Kunz’s children were present at the hearing, and the judge told them that their mother is “a courageous person.”

“She made a mistake, she stood up, and she owned it,” Simpson said, “and that’s kind of rare in society.”

As for Kunz, she told the court that her plan is to continue working and living an honest life.

“It’s what I’ve always done,” she said. “I just kind of hit a rough patch.”

Rocky Mountain Discount Liquor changed hands last year, and is now known as Grape & Grain Market and Lounge.