UMATILLA, Ore.-A 29-year-old Umatilla man is in jail after leading Umatilla Police on a chase into Washington in a stolen truck on June 3.
The incident started when a Umatilla Police Department (UPD) traffic officer was alerted by their dashcam license plate reader to a Dodge Ram in the Circle K parking lot in Umatilla around 11:30 a.m. that was reported stolen to Hermiston Police on June 1.
According to the UPD, when the suspect in the truck saw the UPD officer, they sped away from the Circle K and wouldn’t stop when the officer tried to conduct a traffic stop.
The suspect then crossed into Washington, with UPD in pursuit. The driver left I-82 near Plymouth, crashed through a fence into a farm field, and ran from the truck back toward the highway.
A UPD Detective chased the suspect on foot for about a mile before the suspect climbed through the window of another car on I-82 that was not previously involved in the incident.
Another UPD officer responding to the situation used their car to block the car that the suspect climbed into from driving away, and the suspect was taken into custody without the use of force, according to UPD.
Multiple crimes were committed in Umatilla, as well as Benton County, Washington, and the Washington State Patrol and Benton County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the incident and investigation.
The suspect, who is known to law enforcement, was booked into the Benton County Jail.
According to the UPD, the Umatilla District Attorney’s Office will review potential charges for crimes committed in Oregon during the incident, including Attempting to Elude Police and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.
