BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio (AP) — A western Ohio woman charged with petty theft for allegedly stealing $2.87 from a courthouse fountain says she is jobless and took the change to buy food.

WBNS-TV in Columbus  reports the woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday. A police report alleges she stole the change Oct. 7 from the Logan County Courthouse fountain in Bellefontaine (behl-FOWN'-tihn), and an officer asked her what she was doing and found change in her pocket.

The woman says she worries she'll end up in jail for taking money that she says didn't belong to anyone. She says she has no job, is on the verge of losing her apartment and was trying to feed herself and her four cats.

The city's safety director says officials hope to resolve the case before the November trial.

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