Harrison Thorp
Thursday, September 11, 2014 6:43 am

Tasha Loaiza, with public defender, was back in court on Tuesday asking for and getting another chance at personal recognizance bail while awaiting trial. (Lebanon Voice/Harrison Thorp photo)

ROCHESTER - A Rochester woman charged with felony armed robbery is getting one more chance to remain free while awaiting trial.
Tasha Loaiza, 21, of 17 Norway Plains Road #43, Rochester, was charged with robbing a Rochester woman of money, a computer tablet and prescription drugs on June 15 with alleged accomplice Okiemute "Leo" Omatie, 19, of Fifth Street, Dover.
She was given personal recognizance bail, but police charged her in July with shoplifting shoes at Bootleggers in Rochester, and on Aug. 22 Loaiza's bail was converted to $5,000 cash.
On Tuesday, she was back in court with a public defender who said Loaiza wanted to have her bail converted back to personal recognizance and offered to enroll in the county's ARC drug rehab program.
Both the public defender and prosecutor then held a 12-minute sidebar conference with Judge Susan Ashley, who approved the request but not before administering a stern warning to Loaiza.
"If you blow this you know what the consequences will be," Ashley told Loaiza, who now faces a probable cause hearing on the felony charge later this month.
If Loaiza leaves the ARC program for any reason or fails to comply with any other conditions of release, the bail will be immediately converted back to a minimum of $5,000 cash.
The ARC Program is designed to provide treatment for inmates with serious chemical dependency issues. The inmate's treatment lasts from four to six weeks