Orr returns to Valley to face felony charges
By Dana DuGan
Former Hailey resident Angela Domke Walls Orr, 31, turned herself in to the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8. A warrant for her arrest was issued July 6 by the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, but her whereabouts were unknown at that point. She was charged with Misuse of Public Money by a Public Officer, a felony. Overnight, Orr was held at the Blaine County jail on a $200,000 bond.
In April, the City of Sun Valley’s treasurer, Orr, resigned unexpectedly from her job, where she had been since 2012, earning $76,256 a year.
A 2003 Wood River High School graduate, Orr left town with her young son, and second husband, David Orr, at the end of March.
The arrest was part of a six-month investigation that started with the misuse of a City of Sun Valley credit card, which resulted in Angela Orr resigning on March 31.
The investigation continued, looking at all city funds for Fiscal Year 2015 and Fiscal Year 2016. That investigation showed 47 unauthorized direct deposits into Orr’s personal bank account over a 12-month period for a total of $127,568.
“This loss is covered under the employee dishonesty portion of the city’s insurance policy, which is provided by the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program,” said Sun Valley Mayor Peter Hendricks.
Hendricks called the incident “unfortunate,” and added that the “City’s internal control procedures, when applied correctly and monitored, work as designed to prevent and uncover wrongdoing. To further safeguard taxpayer funds, the City has engaged the firm of Averti Solutions, an Idaho-based firm, to conduct a full operational evaluation of internal processes and procedures.”
Based in Boise, Averti Solutions will look at the fiscal practices – not hiring practices – of the city.
Sun Valley Chief of Police Walt Femling said he worked closely with Orr’s family members to get her back to the Valley.
Femling said rather than being arrested and extradited in another state, the deal they made with her was that she return to Blaine County to face charges. Her family thought she might be in, or on her way to, Ohio. Orr took a bus back to Hailey.
At her arraignment Tuesday, Judge Jennifer Haemmerle asked Orr about her employment and living situation.
Orr said she had no money and that no one was supporting her. Attorney Christopher Simms was assigned as her public defender.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Fredback said the three felony counts against Orr were “serious charges,” and that “technically, there could be a charge for every transaction.”
Haemmerle reduced Orr’s bond to $20,000 due to her community ties and the nonviolent nature of her crime. Her next hearing is slated for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23. But Haemmerle cautioned that if Orr left the 5th District (the Wood River and Magic Valley areas), her original bail would look like a pittance.
Orr, who has a 5-year old son by her first husband, will stay with her parents, Melody and Ronald Domke, of Bellevue.