Arlington Police booked a 32 year-old Snohomish County woman on May 27 into Snohomish County Jail on felony charges of tampering with a witness and bribing a witness, according to the city of Arlington’s spokesperson, Kristin Banfield.

The charges stem from an earlier police report that was filed by the suspect with Arlington Police claiming that she was assaulted by her former boyfriend in early March.

In the police report, the suspect alleged that her ex-boyfriend assaulted her during the custody exchange of their 1-year-old son. The suspect stated in her police report that she had a witness to the assault. The witness subsequently provided Arlington Police with a written statement on the incident after being served with a court subpoena requiring her cooperation. This statement stated that she had witnessed the assault and she could identify all the parties involved through photos.

Arlington Police continued to investigate the alleged assault and discovered photographs that disputed information contained in the suspect’s police report. The photos also disputed information provided by the witness to the assault. When confronted with this information, the witness informed police she had not even met the suspect until two days after the alleged assault occurred.

The “witness” stated that the suspect had paid her $100 in cash to fill out a statement claiming that she had witnessed the assault between the suspect and her ex-boyfriend and was dropping off gifts to her house in exchange for her continued cooperation and for her not to reveal that she was not actually a witness. The witness also stated that the suspect was harassing her by calling and coming over to her house.

Bribing a Witness (RCW 9A.72.090(1)) is a Class B felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $20,000. Tampering with a Witness (RCW 9A.72.120) is a Class C felony that carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a fine of $10,000.