The girlfriend of the alleged driver in a fatal Jan. 19 hit-and-run crash in Vancouver is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning to again ask for her release from jail.
Kalista J. Andino, 21, posted $30,000 bail Tuesday in her witness-tampering case but was not released from jail because the judge had concerns about her living situation.
Clark County Superior Court Judge David Gregerson said Andino may not have contact with her live-in boyfriend, Brandon Smith, whom prosecutors have named as the alleged driver in the fatal crash but have not arrested. Vancouver women Raisa Mosh, 45, and Irina Gardinant, 28, died of injuries suffered when a white pickup truck struck them about 8 p.m. Jan. 19 as they crossed Vancouver Mall Drive on a crosswalk at 72nd Avenue. Mosh’s 12-year-old son was injured in the crash.
Brandon Smith’s mother, Linda Smith, 63, was released just before 3 p.m. Tuesday from Clark County Jail after posting $50,000 bail.
Both women face charges of witness-tampering. Andino faces one count; Linda Smith, two. Their arraignment hearing is Feb. 7.
Andino proposed staying with Brandon Smith’s relatives, but the judge would not allow it.
Pretrial release officer Kirk Pressey said Brandon Smith’s family suggested that she stay at her apartment and Smith, 27, move out. Gregerson said he would not release Andino until Brandon Smith came into court and agreed to the condition on the record.
Brandon Smith’s father sat in the courtroom’s public gallery at Tuesday’s hearings for Andino and Linda Smith but did not speak except to confirm to the judge that he was present.
Tuesday evening, Clark County Sheriff’s deputies helped Child Protective Services take Andino’s and Brandon Smith’s 5-month-old child into protective custody, said Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp.
Vancouver police detectives continue to investigate the hit-and-run and have not disclosed specifically what they still need before they can make an arrest.
Andino, who may have been a passenger in the white pickup truck, is accused of confiding in a relative about the crash and then instructing the relative not to speak to police, according to a court affidavit. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said Linda Smith contacted at least two witnesses and told them not to talk to police.
Linda Smith has indicated that she will live at her home on Madrona Street.
“I’m going to strongly recommend you get an attorney on board,” Gregerson told her Tuesday.
The conditions of her release include not contacting her son, Andino or the families of the two victims.
