PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles woman accused of driving away in another’s car with a 10-month-old girl in it has pleaded not guilty to charges that include kidnapping and taking a car without permission.
Michaela Danielle Diamond, 24, is next set to appear in Clallam County Superior Court on Nov. 22 for a case status hearing, with a preliminary jury trial date set for Dec. 9.
Diamond pleaded not guilty Friday to one count each of second-degree kidnapping, second-degree taking a motor vehicle without permission and driving under the influence with a child in the vehicle.
Diamond has undergone a mental evaluation while in the Clallam County jail and has been found competent to stand trial, according to Superior Court documents.
According to Port Angeles police accounts, Diamond allegedly got into the car of a woman she knew Sept. 13 at Ocean View Cemetery and drove a short distance west along 18th Street with the woman’s child in the car.
Police found the 10-month old girl unharmed inside the car on a piece of private property near the city’s transfer station and landfill about 15 minutes after the mother called police at 3:15 p.m.
Diamond was found and arrested about 15 minutes later riding a bicycle on the northwest corner of the landfill, according to police accounts.
Diamond remained in the county jail Sunday on $50,000 bail.
A police report gave this account of the events leading to Diamond’s arrest:
Diamond had driven with the mother of the child to the cemetery to visit the grave of the mother’s grandmother.
The mother go out of the car with two of her other children to visit the grave, leaving the 10-month old in the car with Diamond.
Diamond told police she started the car with the keys that were in the ignition and began to drive away after she became uncomfortable because the mother “started acting strange.”
Diamond admitted to police she knew the child was in the car when she started to drive away.
She stopped the car when she saw a “shiny red bicycle” leaning against a tree as she drove up a dirt road near the landfill.
Diamond said she rolled down the car’s window to give the 10-month-old air, unstrapped her from her car seat and rode away on the bicycle.
Port Angeles Police Sgt. Barb McFall found the child in the abandoned car.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
