Moses Lake woman jailed following damage to courthouse

EPHRATA — A Moses Lake woman is in jail after inflicting damage on the Grant County Courthouse in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Lorna Villanueva Ozuna, 23, attempted to turn herself in around 1:45 a.m. at the Grant County Jail on an outstanding misdemeanor bench warrant, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Upon being turned away due to jail booking restrictions, Villanueva Ozuna broke several windows and a glass door at the courthouse and pulled a fire alarm, the GCSO post said. She was caught in the act on video and Ephrata Police and GCSO deputies soon found her a few blocks away, according to the statement.

The cost of the damage was not available Friday morning, but GCSO Spokesman Kyle Forman said it exceeded the $1,000 threshold necessary to charge Villanueva Ozuna with felony malicious mischief.

“The burglary (charge) comes from breaking the glass and then entering the building illegally to do something else illegal, which was (to) set off the fire alarm,” Foreman said.

Villanueva Ozuna is currently lodged at the Grant County Jail on suspicion of second-degree burglary, second-degree malicious mischief and tampering with a fire alarm, as well as on a Grant County District Court warrant relating to reckless driving and a Department of Corrections warrant relating to second-degree robbery, according to GCSO Corrections Division records. The Department of Corrections warrant, while it was connected with a felony, did not override the booking restrictions on its own, Foreman explained.

Joel Martin can be reached at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com