A Yakima woman recently released from prison is accused of attempting to sell fentanyl and other drugs, as well as fleeing police.
A Yakima police officer spotted a car with expired plates on North First Street around 7:10 a.m. Aug. 5. The officer followed the car into the drive-up lane of a fast-food restaurant in the 1000 block of North First Street and saw a store employee pass the driver of the car a large paper bag, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by Yakima police.
The woman in the car, identified as Allicianna Lynnzie Clark, 30, appeared to be putting items in the bag as a man approached the car and grabbed the passenger-side door handle, according to the affidavit. The officer turned on his lights and used his patrol car’s loudspeaker to tell the man not to get in the car, according to the affidavit, and the man drove away.
When the restaurant employee refused to take the bag from Clark, Clark drove off, pursued by the officer, the chase reaching speeds of 50 mph through a residential neighborhood, according to the affidavit.
The officer called off the pursuit for safety reasons, according to the affidavit, but followed the car to an alley in the 500 block of North Sixth Street, and Clark into a nearby yard.
She was placed under arrest and officers discovered the paper bag contained a backpack with a 9mm Glock 19 pistol with an extended magazine and ammunition, according to the affidavit. Officers also found plastic bags containing 125.1 grams of methamphetamine, 25 grams of powdered fentanyl and 6 grams of cocaine.
Police booked Clark into the Yakima County Jail on suspicion of escape, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine with intent to deliver.
At a preliminary hearing on Aug. 6, prosecutors asked that Clark’s bail be set at $250,000.
In a memorandum to the court, Yakima County Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Barret outlined Clark’s criminal history, including convictions for first-degree robbery, possession of a sawed-off shotgun, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, first-degree attempted robbery and second-degree assault.
She was released from prison following her theft conviction in March and had completed three months of parole when she was found noncompliant, Barrett said in her memo.
Barrett said Clark had clearly demonstrated a danger to the community and an unwillingness to follow court orders, noting that her second-degree assault conviction stemmed from an attack on a prison inmate while she was incarcerated.
“The combination here – a person with a violent past, a firearm, and methamphetamines – was the precursor to countless violent crimes,” Barrett wrote. “Therefore, the State asserts that a high bail is necessary for the protection of society.”
But defense attorney Melissa Derry argued for Clark to be released on court supervision, as recommended in the court’s preliminary assessment. Derry said Clark has not missed court appearances in the past two years and was recently able to secure full-time employment.
Clark told Judge Jared Boswell she would lose her job if she was not released.
Boswell said that just as Clark wrote a resume to get a job, “you also wrote a resume for the decision I have to make, and the resume is poor.” He added that the court had “grave concerns about his ability to appear in court and not commit crimes.”
While he agreed that a high bail was warranted, Boswell said $75,000 was more appropriate than what the state was asking for.
