Barbie doll bandit charged

MOSES LAKE - Marisol E. Ramirez is accused of stealing Barbie doll toys to fulfill requests of others.

The 25-year-old Moses Lake woman was charged with organized retail theft in Benton County Superior Court in December.

Moses Lake police and Kennewick police searched two homes connected to Ramirez on Tuesday, one on Tanglewood Drive and another on Travis Drive, according to Moses Lake police Capt. Dave Sands.

Law enforcement agencies declined to discuss what was found at the homes, except for the discovery of an unknown substance believed to be an illegal drug. The material was gathered and sent to the Washington State Crime Lab, according to Grant County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Ryan Rectenwald.

Ramirez is accused of filling a cart with Barbie doll toys at a Toys R Us store in Kennewick and walking out of the store without paying on Dec. 20, according to Kennewick police Sgt. Ken Lattin. Employees followed Ramirez and a second woman as they got into a Kia Sorrento and drove away.

Kennewick police immediately located the vehicle and followed it into the Carmike Cinemas parking lot, Lattin stated. The women exited the vehicle and fled on foot. The driver escaped and Ramirez was arrested.

A search warrant was obtained for the vehicle and investigators reportedly located $806 worth of Toys R Us merchandise.

"The warrant revealed lists of what appears to be requested items from several different people and merchandise from several different establishments," wrote Benton County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Megan Killgore in court records.

Ramirez allegedly "admitted to stealing some items," according to court documents.

She pleaded not guilty and was released after a bond was paid for her bail of $15,000, according to court records. Ramirez has a conviction for bail jumping from 2007 and a warrant issued for her arrest in Spokane for a different charge of theft.

In 2009, Ramirez pleaded guilty to theft in the second degree and assault in the third degree for stealing from five stores at the Columbia Center Mall in Kennewick and assaulting a store security officer, according to court records. She was sentenced to four months in jail.

Ramirez has had 16 misdemeanor cases against her with five in Benton County and 11 in Grant County. Most of the Grant County cases are for driving violations, such as driving without insurance or driving without a valid license, but she faced three citations for theft in the third degree, according to Grant County District Court records.

Her trial for the charge of organized retail theft is set for Feb. 13 in Benton County.