Bail was raised to $5,000 cash Friday for a 19-year-old woman accused of tampering with witnesses against her boyfriend in a kidnapping/extortion case.
Melissa Suzanne Goetz of Carson City is charged with dissuading a victim from reporting a crime and communication with a person charged or convicted of a felony in county jail.
She is accused of acting on behalf of Robert Pierce, 32, in trying to get witnesses to change their stories or not speak with officers investigating charges of kidnapping and robbery with the use of a deadly weapon.
Pierce is in Douglas County Jail serving a one-year sentence for a similar offense that occurred in Aug. 25, 2009.
Codefendant Timothy Young, 27, also charged in both cases, is serving a prison sentence.
Young and Pierce are set for preliminary hearings July 23 in East Fork Justice Court on the new charges.
According to the complaint against Goetz, she sat next to one witness as she was questioned by telephone, suggesting replies to investigators. Goetz reportedly told the witness she didn't have to talk to investigators.
EnEarl forbid Goetz from having contact with Pierce and Young or any of the witnesses on a list provided by prosecutor Laurie Trotter.
The victim in the new case said Pierce and Young came to his residence in Carson City on Aug. 3, 2009, and forced him into a van. He claimed they drove him to the desert near Bodie Flats, used pepper spray, threatened him with a knife and took his wallet and clothing except for his socks and underwear.
He walked to a residence and summoned help.
