SHARE

By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

PORT ORCHARD — A 36-year-old woman was removed last week from the Kitsap County Juvenile Detention Center after staff found she'd assumed a 17-year-old's identity.

The woman was arrested March 8 in Port Orchard for attempting to fill a forged Oxycodone prescription at the Bethel Avenue Rite Aid. She presented the identification of a 17-year-old and was taken to the county's juvenile detention center off Old Clifton Road, according to Kitsap County Juvenile Department Director Michael Merringer.

Staff were skeptical of her claim and worked to determine her real identity, Merringer said. She was kept away from juveniles while they investigated.

"While she was here, she was isolated from any of the other kids," Merringer said.

Todd Dowell, Kitsap County deputy prosecutor in charge of the juvenile division, called it a "very rare" circumstance. Authorities could not transport her to the Kitsap County Jail without definitive proof she was an adult.

Dowell noted the woman "looks younger than she is," complicating the situation. According to documents filed in Kitsap County Superior Court, her fingerprints matched those of a 36-year-old, and when confronted, she admitted to her real identity.

She was booked Thursday into the Kitsap County Jail, where she remains on charges of attempting to fill a forged prescription, as well as several other unrelated charges. She will not face charges for providing false information, according to court records.