Moses Lake woman to serve over 2 years in prison for carjacking

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake woman who stole a woman’s car in August and later crashed the vehicle at a high-traffic intersection will be spending over two years in prison.

Charlotte Albert, 53, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to second-degree robbery, felony hit-and-run and a single count of misdemeanor hit-and-run and was sentenced to a total of 25 1/2 months, a little over two years, in prison. Another hit-and-and run count and a theft of a motor vehicle charge were dismissed in a plea agreement between the prosecution and defense. After the defendant was arrested and her bail was set at $25,000 she was able to post it. She did not show up to a subsequent court hearing after she posted bail, however. Per the plea agreement, the prosecution agreed to not file a bail-jumping charge against Albert.

The carjacking occurred on Aug. 29 in Moses Lake and involved a 69-year-old woman exiting her vehicle in the 500 block of North Clark Drive and putting an Avon magazine in a mailbox. She says she returned to her car and said “hello” to a woman, Albert, whom she did not know and who lives in the 500 block of North Clark Drive. Albert proceeded to run to the woman’s car and jump in the driver’s seat.

“(The victim) gave chase to Albert and grabbed Albert by the hair while Albert entered the car. Albert was still able to get into the car and accelerated while (the victim) had hold of her hair. (The victim) was dragged beside the car for several feet before losing her grip and letting go,” wrote a Moses Lake officer.

Albert sped away from the area and collided with a truck as she made a left turn onto North Mattson Drive and started heading toward the Alder Street Fill. She continued heading south on Stratford Road and rear-ended a vehicle at the East Broadway Avenue intersection. She took off on foot after the crash but was taken into custody after a brief foot chase with police.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at rbyrd@columbiabasinherald.com.