A Baker City woman arrested Feb. 26 after she entered an unlocked home was arrested Monday night, March 3, on new charges, including unauthorized use of a vehicle and attempting to elude police after driving for more than 20 miles with a Baker County Sheriff’s Office deputy following her.

Angela Marie Aldrich, 45, was given a conditional release from the Baker County Jail after her Feb. 26 arrest on charges of first- and second-degree criminal trespassing.

About 8:22 p.m. on Monday, March 3, Baker City Police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 1800 block of Main Street.

Deputy Matt Rosin of the Baker County Sheriff’s Office was on patrol in Haines when he saw a white 2021 Toyota 4Runner at about 9:12 p.m. He recognized the vehicle from an earlier report of a stolen vehicle in Baker City earlier that evening, according to Rosin’s probable cause affidavit. The report also was that Angela Aldrich was the suspect.

Rosin wrote that he saw the Toyota turn right onto Highway 30 and drive south toward Baker City.

He caught up to the vehicle near Milepost 48, just north of the Baker City limits and the intersection with Chico Lane.

Rosin wrote that he confirmed the Oregon license plate matched that of the reported stolen Toyota. He turned on his overhead lights near the intersection of Highway 30 and Chico Lane, but the Toyota did not stop, instead turning onto Chico Lane and driving south toward Pocahontas Road.

Rosin wrote that he also activated the siren in his patrol car.

The Toyota turned left onto Pocahontas and while making what Rosin described as a “very slow left-hand turn from Pocahontas Road onto Highway 30” — heading north back toward Haines — the driver leaned her head out of the window and looked back. He recognized the driver as Aldrich.

Aldrich did not stop, continuing at “highway speeds” northwest into Baker Valley, Rosin wrote in his affidavit.

He used the loudspeaker in his car to order Aldrich to stop.

She continued for about 11 miles, driving on “multiple roads,” according to Rosin’s affidavit. Aldrich stopped at the intersection of Hunt Mountain Lane and Pocahontas Road. Aldrich got out of the Toyota, where Rosin arrested her around 9:34 p.m.

She remained in the Baker County Jail and was scheduled to be in Baker County Circuit Court March 11 at 1:15 p.m. for a probable cause hearing. Her bail was set at $45,000.

A grand jury indicted Aldrich March 6 on four charges, all Class C felonies: unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, first-degree criminal mischief and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.

Car theft report
Baker City Police officer Mark Powell wrote in a separate probable cause affidavit that he responded to the report of the stolen Toyota. The owners told Powell that they had parked the vehicle in the 1800 block of Main Street with the doors unlocked and a key fob inside. There was also an iPhone 15, worth about $1,000, in the vehicle.

Powell wrote that he watched a video from a camera at Glacier 45, on the other side of Main Street. The video showed a person, carrying a guitar case, walk to the driver’s side of the 4Runner. The camera didn’t show the driver’s door. The 4Runner drove away at 8:09 p.m.

Powell wrote that about 20 minutes earlier he talked to Aldrich at the VFW Memorial Hall, 2005 Valley Ave., a block west of Main Street on an unrelated matter. Powell wrote that at that time Aldrich was carrying a guitar case, and wearing a white sweater and blue ballcap. He wrote that he last saw her crossing Main Street in the 1800 block.

After being dispatched to the stolen car report, Powell wrote that a dispatcher told him that an off-duty city police officer, Mason Powell (not related to Mark Powell) had spoken briefly to Aldrich, who he recognized from previous contacts, and that she was driving a white Toyota 4Runner in the 1800 block of D Street. The conversation happened just before 8:29 p.m., according to Mason Powell.

Deputy Rosin saw the 4Runner in Haines about 42 minutes later.

Mark Powell, who also pursued Aldrich after she failed to stop for Rosin, wrote that when Rosin arrested Aldrich, she was wearing a white sweater and blue ballcap.

Powell wrote that he drove Aldrich to the Baker County Jail.

Before doing so, Powell wrote that he talked with Aldrich after reading her the Miranda rights.

Powell wrote that Aldrich thought the 4Runner belonged to someone she knew, although she admitted she didn’t have permission from that person to drive the vehicle.

Aldrich confirmed the conversation with Mason Powell.

She told Powell that she didn’t stop when Rosin first turned on his overhead lights because she was afraid of “fake police” in the area. She told Powell she stopped at Hunt Mountain Lane and Pocahontas Road because she heard Rosin talking on the loudspeaker.

Powell wrote that Rosin had been using the loudspeaker during the pursuit.

Aldrich told Powell that she took a phone call on the iPhone while driving, and then tossed the phone out the window. She didn’t recall exactly where she tossed the phone.