ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A Buncombe County grand jury has indicted a former county pretrial services coordinator on felony obstruction of justice charges tied to her official duties, state investigators said.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said Rasnelly Vargas faces two felony counts of obstruction of justice following an investigation into her conduct while working in the county’s Pretrial Services program. The case is being prosecuted by the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Authorities did not release additional details about the allegations. Vargas is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
However, court records show Vargas previously served as the pretrial services coordinator for Ryan Ricky Houston, whose violent crime spree in August 2024 ended in a fatal wrong-way crash. Vargas resigned from her position shortly after Houston’s death.
Investigators said Houston was out on pretrial release at the time of the spree. Authorities allege he stabbed his girlfriend, Malerie Crisp, broke into a home, assaulted a resident and stole multiple vehicles before the crash, which killed Houston and former Marshall Police Chief Mike Boone.
Buncombe County officials confirmed in 2024 that Vargas was part of an internal investigation, which ended after she and other pretrial services employees resigned.
According to Asheville Watchdog, a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Crisp’s estate alleges Houston committed the crimes while under court-ordered supervision and accuses the county and several employees of gross negligence. The suit claims Houston’s GPS monitor recorded more than 240 potential violations in the months leading up to the rampage, none of which were reported to a judge.
The lawsuit also alleges Vargas had a romantic relationship with Houston while she was assigned to supervise him, a claim reported by Asheville Watchdog.
Vargas, as Houston’s pretrial coordinator, was responsible for reporting violations of release conditions to the courts under county policy.