Woman who went on the lam with untreated TB is now out of the slammer
Enlarge / Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (credit: Getty | NIH/NIAID)
A woman in Tacoma, Washington, with an infamous case of tuberculosis is now out of jail-with strings attached.
Law enforcement agents took the woman-identified only as "V.N." in court documents-into custody on June 1. At that point, V.N. had spent a year and half ignoring monthly court orders to have her tuberculosis case treated and/or isolate at home to keep from spreading her infection to others in the community. She also spent about three months on the lam, actively evading law enforcement as they tried to execute a March 2, 2023, civil arrest warrant. During that time, she was seen taking a city bus to a local casino and seemingly hid from law enforcement after that.
She was eventually apprehended at her home without incident on June 1, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss told Ars at the time. Deputies booked her into a negative pressure room in the Pierce County Jail, where she would get her court-ordered tuberculosis treatment without risk to others in the facility.