A Tacoma woman facing federal charges for conspiracy, bank fraud and identity theft in Oregon appeared in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday for charges stemming from alleged fraud that took place in Lewis County in January.
Rachel Catherine Leggett, 39, was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 30, according to jail records.
She was charged March 29 with three counts of forgery, three counts of second-degree identity theft and one count of first-degree theft for allegedly stealing a woman’s purse out of her car on Jan. 29 and using the victim’s identification to cash several forged checks at different banks in Centralia and Chehalis, stealing a total of $9,210 from the victim’s bank account.
Leggett was issued a summons notice for that case on April 2 requiring her to appear for a April 17 preliminary hearing, which she was not present for, prompting the court to issue a no-bail bench warrant.
A second case against Leggett was filed in Lewis County Superior Court on April 16, charging her with two counts of first-degree identity theft, four counts of forgery and three counts of second-degree theft.
In that case, Leggett is accused of cashing several checks, each over $3,000, that were stolen from the victim in the January case.
The court sent Leggett a summons notice on April 16 requiring her to appear for a May 8 preliminary hearing, which she was not present for, prompting the court to issue a separate $10,000 bench warrant.
Leggett was later arrested in the Yakima area on Oct. 9 after she allegedly used a woman’s ID and bank card to withdraw $5,000 from an account at Cashmere Valley Bank’s West Yakima Avenue branch, according to reporting from The Yakima Herald-Republic.
A Yakima Police Department officer confronted Leggett in the drive-thru, but she backed out and went to leave, according to the affidavit quoted by the Yakima Herald-Republic. Officers followed her to Selah, and then to the Lower Valley. Washington State Patrol troopers and Yakima County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisted. Leggett’s vehicle ran into spikes near Toppenish, and she was taken into custody, the affidavit said.
She was charged in Yakima County Superior Court on Oct. 10 with eluding, forgery, hit-and-run causing injury and first-degree identity theft charges, but the court dismissed those charges without prejudice after the federal charges were filed, according to The Yakima Herald-Republic.
Leggett is accused of stealing $12,000 by using a woman’s stolen identity at different credit union branches in Oregon in December of 2023, according to reporting by KIMA TV.
She also recently pleaded guilty to similar charges out of Pierce County Superior Court, according to Judge J. Andrew Toynbee, who granted the prosecution’s request to set Leggett’s bail at $15,000 per case, for a total of $30,000, on Thursday.
Toynbee cited the Yakima case and the federal charges as reasons for his bail decision.
“I know they’re just property crimes, but (there are) many, many victims,” Toynbee said during Leggett’s preliminary hearing on Thursday, Oct. 31.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7.
