Woman charged after allegedly driving off as officer investigated her for theft

IDAHO FALLS — A 26-year-old Ammon woman has been charged after allegedly hopping in her car and driving away from an officer while he was investigating her role in a possible theft.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by the Idaho Falls Police Department, an officer investigated two thefts made by a woman at Walmart and Big Deal Outlet. In the first case, the officer cited Sarah Lynn Cartier for petty theft, a misdemeanor.

Cartier stole 72 items from Walmart that she abandoned in the parking lot when confronted by store employees, documents said.

“I called Sarah and asked her to meet with me so I could give her a citation for petty theft. Sarah asked me to meet her at the Big Deal Outlet on South Woodruff,” the officer wrote in documents.

The officer waited for her at Big Deal Outlet and called her to ask where she was. Cartier said she was in the store and would come find the officer in the parking lot. The officer watched Cartier walk to her car, which was parked near the store.

Employees at Big Deal Outlet called dispatch and reported that Cartier had tried to steal items from their store.

The officer then went to Cartier’s vehicle and told her that the store had called and reported her. The officer asked her to stay put while he made contact with the employees. He then asked her if she had stolen any merchandise from the store, and she pointed to several items in the passenger seat and said she only had her purse.

As one of the store employees was walking out to speak to the officer, Cartier had gotten into her car and drove east through the parking lot, documents said.

“Sarah was not free to leave because of the current investigation that I was conducting,” the officer wrote.

The officer followed her to Woodruff Avenue and activated overhead lights in an attempt to stop her. She continued to flee and passed a car by driving in the middle passing lane. She additionally endangered another vehicle that was westbound that pulled to the side of the road to avoid colliding with her, court documents said.

The roads were mostly snow covered and very slick. She continued east to the curve in the road at Meppen Drive where she lost control and spun completely around in the roadway.

“I pulled into the middle turn lane going nose to nose with Sarah and she drove around me and south on Montcliff,” the officer wrote.

The officer deactivated his lights and discontinued the pursuit because it was too dangerous and she was driving much faster than she could maintain control, documents said.

The officer went back to Big Deal Outlet and talked with an employee. The employee said they were suspicious of Cartier trying to steal items because she got a backpack from the store and took the tags off of it. The employee reviewed video and saw that she had stuffed several pieces of merchandise into the backpack and was preparing to leave the store when she abandoned her cart. She only took her purse with her from the cart.

An officer with the city of Ucon Police Department helped in the investigation and said he saw Cartier run into her house. The officer said she would not answer the door but he would watch out for her if she left.

She was later detained and transported to jail. An officer cited her for willful concealment of merchandise at Big Deal Outlet, documents said.

Cartier was charged with felony eluding. She was given a $15,000 bond and has since posted it. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 1 at 1 p.m. at the Bonneville County courthouse.

Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $50,000 fine and a one to three year license suspension.