May 24, 2013
A Cleveland woman whose claim on a lottery prize got her in legal trouble is changing her plea.
Elecia Battle had filed a police report claiming she had bought -- then lost -- the winning ticket in the Mega Millions lottery, which had a $162 million jackpot. She later admitted she didn't have the winning ticket, and was charged with filing a false police report.
Now there's word Battle has changed her plea from no contest to innocent. The earlier no contest plea wasn't an admission of guilt, but meant Battle wouldn't fight the charge, which is punishable by up to six months in jail and a thousand-dollar fine.
Battle changed her plea in a court in South Euclid, Ohio, where the winning ticket was sold. Court officials say a pre-trial hearing will be scheduled for next month. No word on why the plea was changed.
The Ohio Lottery says it's already given a lump sum payment to another woman it had confirmed as the real Mega Millions winner.
