U.S. marshals, other officers and bond agents arrested Tanya M. Leffler, an Amboy woman accused of striking and killing a motorcyclist with her car last year while high on meth, Tuesday morning in Oregon, according to Dave Regan of Regan Bail Bonds.
Leffler, 35, was out on bail for the third time — this time for $300,000 — when she did not appear as scheduled in court last week.
Law enforcement learned she had moved to the Salem area, which defied the conditions of her release, and was there without permission of the court, according to court documents. On Friday, a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Court records said Leffler was driving under the influence when her car struck motorcyclist James Luden, 54, of Vancouver on April 14, 2014. Luden was stopped at an intersection.
She posted bail for the initial charge last year, but allegedly violated her release conditions by possessing methamphetamine with the intent to sell and growing marijuana. After posting bail a second time, she was back in court a few days later. Court records said she violated the conditions of her release when she misrepresented where she was living and didn’t report to corrections officials.
Regan said the company’s sources had indicated Leffler might have been on the move even before a warrant was issued.
“Even before she failed to appear, we kinda already had tabs on her,” he said.
The company referred the case to the U.S. Marshal’s office, and watched the home where she was staying — a cousin’s, Regan said — for several days.
Regan said she was arrested along with her boyfriend, Derek Heath, who also had an arrest warrant out for a felony domestic violence no-contact order violations.
Regan said marijuana was being grown at the house, and multiple firearms were recovered. Because of that, he added, and warnings about Heath’s alleged history of violence, a SWAT team was on standby during the arrest.
Regan said the home where Leffler and Heath were arrested was in a rural area near Salem.
He said bail bond agents were monitoring the house for four days.
“They were deeply hidden in there,” he said.
Regan praised the marshals’ performance, and the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office’s work in processing a warrant for Leffler’s arrest.
“(Senior Deputy Prosecutor) Kasey Vu got the warrant issued as fast as humanly possible,” Regan said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a warrant issued so fast.”
Regan said Leffler was being booked into the Marion County (Ore.) Jail. When she’d be transported to Clark County was unclear Tuesday afternoon.
