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Boise woman accused of ramming car, throwing ranch dressing pleads guilty to aggravated battery

Patrick Orr - porr@idahostatesman.com

Published: 11/03/09


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Tiffany M. Wallace will find out next month if she will go to prison or go on probation in connection with a road rage incident in June where she is accused of using her pickup truck to ram into another car several times in a hospital parking lot.

Boise police say that happened minutes after Wallace threw plastic containers of ranch dressing and coins at the car as part of a traffic dispute with the other driver June 1.

Wallace pleaded guilty to a charge of felony aggravated battery Monday. In exchange for the guilty plea, Ada County prosecutors dropped a charge of felony use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.

A sentencing hearing for the 18-year-old Wallace is scheduled for Dec. 11 in front of 4th District Judge Timothy Hansen.

The charge of aggravated battery is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and prosecutors are recommending a 10-year-prison sentence, with two years fixed.

But prosecutors are also recommending that Hansen retain jurisdiction on Wallace — which is also known as a rider program — where she would spend six months getting treatment in an Idaho Department of Correction facility. Then it would be up to Hansen to decide if Wallace should serve her prison sentence or be placed on felony probation for the 10 years.

Wallace's attorney can ask for a lesser sentence.

Boise police arrested Wallace June 1. Police say Wallace she used her pickup truck to ram a Kia sedan several times over a road rage incident that began on Fairview Avenue and ended at the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.

The male driver of the Kia told police the conflict began after he was cut off by a woman driving a pickup truck on Fairview Avenue near Orchard Street. The male driver told police that the woman driving the pickup then began driving aggressively — cutting him off, tailgating, and pulling the pickup next to him, where she yelled at him and threw coins and small plastic containers of ranch dressing at the car.

The driver said he tried to get away from the pickup but the driver continued to follow him.

The driver called 911 and was told by an Ada County dispatcher to drive into the Saint Al's parking lot to meet a police officer.

That's when the driver of the Kia said the driver of the pickup ran into the back of his car at least three or four times. When police arrived, they found the sedan had a severely damaged back end, with the rear bumper falling off and taillights broken. The car's sides and trunk were also covered by spots of ranch dressing and there appeared to be dents from the coins, police say.

The pickup was still in the parking lot. That's when police arrested Wallace and booked her into the Ada County Jail.

Wallace reportedly told police she was angry about something else before she began driving that day.

Wallace admitted to Hansen Friday that she rammed the truck into the car but did not explain why.

Court records indicate that Wallace has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and manic depression.

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