VANCOUVER, Wash. — A woman who was trying to keep her boyfriend out of jail wound up in the slammer after a packet of methamphetamine fell out of her pocket, officials said.
The episode occurred Tuesday during a hearing in Clark County Superior Court for Randy Lee Baker, 33, accused of failing to pay court fines.
Lisa Marie Brecht, 31, of Longview stepped forward to tell Judge James Rulli that she had mailed in a payment for Baker last week.
"She was gesturing with her hands, which had been in her pockets, and when she took them out the baggie flew out," court clerk Julie Brown said. "The poor defendant, he just covered his face with his hands and shook his head."
As Brecht bent down to pick up the baggie, custody officer Albin Boyse told her to put it on the table.
"The judge said to the defendant, ‘I thought you were clean and doing well,’ and he said, ‘I am, and I thought she was, too,’ " Brown said.
Brecht already was wanted for failing to pay court fines for third-degree theft and driving with a suspended license. She was jailed without bail pending a court appearance that could come as early as Wednesday.
DC
Foster kids’ benefits: The U.S. Supreme Court extended an order Wednesday that temporarily allowed Washington state to continue taking Social Security benefits from about 1,000 orphans and disabled children to pay for their foster care. The extension will last until the court rejects an appeal from the state without hearing the case, or hears the appeal and issues a ruling. Under Washington state law, the state Department of Social and Health Services has been taking more than $600,000 a month from the Social Security benefits of children living in foster care to help pay for their basic needs, including food and clothing.
Seattle
Orphan orca: The National Marine Fisheries Service is putting together a team of scientists who will spend several days watching an orphaned killer whale’s every move. The health of the young, 2,000-pound, 11-foot female has appeared to be in decline since mid-January, when she first was spotted in central Puget Sound, about 100 miles south of the state’s resident orcas in the San Juan Islands and even farther from her own pod in British Columbia. One of the observations that has prompted concern among veterinarians is the smell of ketone — much like alcohol — on the whale’s breath. That could mean she is beginning to digest her own blubber. Capturing and measuring the chemical composition of the orca’s respiratory gases could give scientists a better idea of the extent to which the whale is malnourished.
From Herald news services
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