Kan. clerk pleads no contest in lottery sting

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) -- A 28-year-old Hutchinson man has pleaded no contest to trying to steal lottery winnings while working as a convenience store clerk.

Justin Bright's attorney says prosecutors have agreed to drop a felony computer crime charge in the plea bargain and will recommend probation.

Bright was accused of telling someone with an apparent $25,000 winning scratch-off ticket that it was not a winner, then trying to cash it the next day. He entered his plea on Wednesday.

The ticket was presented Aug. 30 by an undercover Lottery agent participating in a statewide sting conducted by the Lottery and attorney general's office. Bright was among five Kansas clerks charged in the sting with attempting to steal lottery winnings.

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Information from: The Hutchinson News, http://www.hutchnews.com