One of two former Riverside County Superior Court clerks indicted for mishandling inside information related to a criminal case pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit a felony.

Michelle Valdez, 59, of Thousand Palms, admitted to the murder charge in a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. No charges were dismissed.

The plea was made during a preliminary hearing Monday before Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam at the Riverside Courtroom. Valdez’s plea comes just over a week after her co-defendant and former coworker, Angela Franz, 48, of Thousand Palms, pleaded guilty to the same charge before Pulliam.

The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for Franz on Dec. 2, while Valdez is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 22.

Both women are expected to serve probation. Each is free on bond.

According to the district attorney’s office, the two were assigned to the Larson Justice Center in Indio when the crime occurred in January 2020.

Prosecutors said a law enforcement officer filed a search warrant request and asked that the documents remain under seal for confidentiality reasons and to prevent the investigation from being compromised.

A judge signed the warrant the same day and ordered it sealed, according to the DA’s office.

“Franz obtained the warrant from the court system, printed it and then provided it to Valdez,” according to an agency statement released after the indictment was unsealed. “Both defendants have been clerks for many years and would know that reviewing, printing and sharing a sealed court document in this manner would be against the law.”

A possible motive has not been disclosed.

The case went before a 19-member county grand jury in June 2022, resulting in indictments against both women, neither of whom had prior felony or misdemeanor convictions.

They are no longer employed by the Superior Court.