Additional burglary charges for suspect

Posted 4/25/17

However, Valorie Lamb Harlan was free for only about an hour before Powell police re-arrested her in connection with the ongoing investigation into her actions.

If Harlan is to be released from jail again, she’ll need to post $48,000 in cash, …

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Additional burglary charges for suspect

Posted

Deputy’s no-show gave Powell woman brief break from jail

A Powell woman suspected in multiple burglaries was briefly released from jail last week after a Park County sheriff’s deputy missed her court hearing.

However, Valorie Lamb Harlan was free for only about an hour before Powell police re-arrested her in connection with the ongoing investigation into her actions.

If Harlan is to be released from jail again, she’ll need to post $48,000 in cash, Circuit Court Judge Bruce Waters ruled Thursday.

She now faces four felony charges and six misdemeanors. That includes one count of aggravated burglary — relating to a break-in at a residence west of Ralston on April 7 that involved weapons — and three counts of burglary, which allege she broke into three Powell car washes between April 5 and 7.

The aggravated burglary charge was filed first, after sheriff’s deputies and a Wyoming Highway Patrolman caught Harlan taking guns from a residence on Dutcher Springs Trail; authorities had been alerted by the homeowner, whose home security system was triggered when Harlan broke in, charging documents say.

Evidence recovered at that house later led authorities to suspect Harlan in several other burglaries.

One of the items found on Dutcher Springs Trail was a key that appeared to have been stolen from Lil Spark Car Wash a couple of nights earlier. Lil Spark, on Division Street, was broken into on the night of April 5 or the early morning of April 6, and hundreds of dollars of cash and change were stolen, Powell Police Officer Josh Strom wrote in an affidavit.

Harlan is charged not only in that burglary, but also for break-ins at two other car washes in the early morning hours of April 7.

Shortly before 1 a.m., Harlan arrived at the Coulter Car Care car wash on Cheyenne Street, Powell Police Officer Matt Brilakis wrote. Surveillance footage showed that Harlan pried open a door to get into the business’ office, found some keys, then got into various cash and dispensing machines, Brilakis wrote; Harlan reportedly made off with roughly $700 in change and bills and caused roughly $826 in damage, Brilakis wrote.

Next, Harlan is alleged to have burglarized Rocky Mountain Car Wash on Powell’s west end. A little before 2 a.m, surveillance footage shows her using a hammer and tire iron to break into that business’ office, Strom wrote in a separate affidavit. She stole keys, a tool bag from the maintenance room and about $80 from a vending machine, Strom said. He said the cameras also captured Harlan trying, unsuccessfully, to break into other machines and a safe.

One of the keys from Rocky Mountain Car Wash and a tool bag were found at the home on Dutcher Springs Trail, court records say.

When Sgt. Mark Hartman found Harlan inside the home that night — wearing the same clothes she was seen wearing in the car wash surveillance footage — the deputy arrested her and the Park County Attorney’s Office filed the aggravated burglary charge.

Harlan was set for a preliminary hearing in that case on the morning of April 18; that’s a hearing where a circuit court judge determines whether there’s enough evidence for a case to proceed to District Court. However, Sgt. Hartman had missed his notice to appear in court, leaving the state with no witness to call.

As a result, the prosecution and Harlan’s defense attorney reached a deal: Harlan waived her right to have a preliminary hearing within 10 days of her initial court appearance and, in return, the prosecution allowed her to be released from jail on her own recognizance. Up to that point, Harlan’s bail had been set at $50,000 cash.

“The majority of the reason the state’s concurring with this particular bond modification is because of the failure of the officer to appear, and our inability to pursue a preliminary hearing, should this matter go at this time,” Deputy Park County Attorney Tim Blatt told the judge.

Harlan’s court-appointed attorney, Bill Simpson, said his client — who is disabled — would be staying with her mother in Powell while out on bond.

However, Blatt hinted that Harlan might be arrested on new charges, telling the judge that “there may be other matters that could potentially put this [case] back in Cody.” Blatt said his office would be working to “determine whether there’s going to be anything else that comes out” of the investigation.

Harlan was released from jail around 8:50 a.m., but when she checked in at the Powell police station around 10 a.m., officers there arrested her on nine new charges; in addition to the counts of burglary, Harlan is also charged with misdemeanor counts of property destruction and theft for the car wash break-ins.

“An hour after I got out, after being released, I got re-arrested after I went to check in, like you told me to,” Harlan explained to Judge Waters on Thursday.

As for what led to the brief release from jail, Park County Sheriff Scott Steward said Sgt. Hartman had been returning to work after regular days off and — being focused on getting a search warrant for Harlan’s vehicle — didn’t see the notice from the county attorney’s office about the April 18 preliminary hearing. Hartman took responsibility for the mistake and later apologized to the judge and the county attorney’s office, Steward said.

“There’s no excuse for it,” the sheriff said of officers missing hearings, “But it does happen, unfortunately.”

This incident was unique in that it involved a higher-profile case.

“... When we work such crazy shifts, with the way they work days on and off and nights, it slips through the cracks and people forget. It’s very unfortunate,” Steward said. “Luckily, it’s not somebody now that we’re chasing across the country, trying to get back.”

Preliminary hearings on the new burglary charges are tentatively set for Wednesday, with the hearing in the aggravated burglary case pushed back to May 3.

A news release from the Sheriff’s Office, put out after Harlan’s initial arrest, indicated that police are also investigating a series of burglaries in Cody — including at three car washes — plus damage at a Lane 8 shop in rural Powell. The workshop belongs to the owner of the home on Dutcher Springs Trail, and the Sheriff’s Office believes Harlan got into the home with the help of a garage door opener from the shop.

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