Cortez police arrested Angela Ruth Price on Feb. 16 after she obstructed a peace officer during an altercation over the status of her illegally parked motor home.
According to the police report written by Community Resource Officer Darren Uptain, officers responded to America’s Auto Care on 244 E. Main St. to check the status on Price’s RV, which had been ordered by Cortez Municipal Court to be moved from its illegally parked space to a legal location.
Price had been given until noon Friday, 96 hours, to comply with the request.
The request came after months of back-and-forth about the RV, which was inoperable. The court reported that it had been illegally parked in Cortez for months and was a safety concern and biohazard.
She had told Municipal Court at her previous appearance that the repair shop said it could repair her motor home, but Mikal Ford, manager at America’s Auto Care, told officers that he had told Price that it could not repair an RV of that size.
Ford also told Uptain that it isn’t certified to work on the wiring in motor homes.
It was unclear how the RV had gotten to the auto shop.
Price moved the illegally parked RV, but she illegally parked it in another location, again falling short of the court order.
The report went on to note that she “obstructed law enforcement while attempting to tow the vehicle,” and she was arrested.
Officer Trevor Robertson’s supplementary report added new details about the confrontation with Price at her RV.
Robertson said Price was very argumentative when police arrived at her RV, “accusing us of many different, unrelated things.”
While police gave her the chance to remove some of her belongings and her pets from the vehicle before it was towed, “she refused to do so.”
After the tow truck arrived, police gave Price another opportunity to take her pets out of the vehicle, but she refused to comply. When Robertson attempted to open the trailer door to retrieve the animals himself, the door was locked.
Price refused to unlock the door and was arrested.
Her two dogs and cat were taken to the Cortez Animal Shelter by Animal Control Officer Pamela Imm.
Uptain spoke to the state of the motor home, saying that it was “completely full of junk, trash and other items” so it couldn’t be fully inventoried.
The RV was towed to the Cortez Industrial Yard where it will remain for 30 days. If Price cannot pay the amount posted by the city and cannot move it to a legal location, it will become the property of the city, where it will be dealt with as city officials deem fit.
Price has multiple upcoming court hearings. Her review hearing was 3 p.m. Thursday and her pretrial conference is March 12.
She also will have a pretrial readiness conference at 3 p.m. April 30 before her jury trials. The jury trial dates are set for 3 p.m. May 8 and 8:30 a.m. May 9.
