Thursday, December 15, 2005

NEW BRITAIN, Connecticut (AP) -- A pair of twins who tried to dupe a judge in a larceny case have doubled their trouble.Yaricza Ortiz stood in for her sister and pleaded guilty to using a stolen credit card last week. New Britain Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford sentenced her to probation.Soon after, the public defender was back in front of the judge with the 18-year-old twins, Yamahile and Yaricza.Yamahile had a simple explanation for why her sister came to court for her. "I had a final today," she said."Do you think this is funny? I don't know why you think it's funny," the judge said Tuesday, calling the action a "fraud on the court."He withdrew Yamahile Ortiz's original guilty plea and set her bail at $50,000.Then, Yaricza complained to her sister about having to help raise the bail money and used an obscenity -- so Clifford increased Yamahile's bail to $250,000 and ordered her taken into custody.Clifford also told prosecutors to review the transcript of Yaricza's appearance to determine if she had violated any laws. She is on probation and a violation could land her back in jail, Clifford said.Police accused the Ortiz sisters and a friend of charging more than $1,000 on a stolen credit card in February. The friend took the card from a purse she found at a restaurant, authorities say.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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