Cops Across Tri-Cities Collaborate to Chase and Catch Culprit

Countdown to chase and catch a 120mph Columbia Basin culprit:

3 - Law enforcement agencies;  2 - Counties;  1 - Spike strip - Game Over.

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It's rare something good happens after one falls asleep in a running car at the gas pump.

A man was finally forced to succumb to the cops in Kennewick early Tuesday morning, after the Tuff guy, 33-year old Elias Ramirez, rammed his Chrysler 300's grill into a Tuff Shed sign in the 4200 block of W. Clearwater Ave. After a short foot pursuit, the man was taken into custody.

Authorities had to use spike strips to finally stop Ramirez who had been doing about 120 miles-per-hour between Pasco, Benton City, Richland and Kennewick.

Benton County Sheriff's Deputies say Ramirez was behind the wheel of a Chrysler 300 on I-82 early Tuesday morning when they began to give chase. The police said they were able to confirm that ride was the same vehicle as the one that had fled from Pasco Police earlier.

The saga began according to the Pasco Police Facebook page, when the suspect was contacted by Pasco officers at the Circle-K, at the intersection of Court St. and Road 26, this (Tuesday) morning about 3:00 a.m. They were investigating the status of a male who was reported to be passed out at the wheel of a running silver Chrysler 300 parked at the gas pumps. Officers roused him and offered him medical assistance, which he refused. After running his license, which confirmed that he had multiple warrants for his arrest, Ramirez put his ride into drive, hit the gas and sped off, abandoning his license.

After a short pursuit through red lights, officers saw him endanger a vehicle on Road 26 and at that point they terminated their pursuit. The police will often call off high speed chases in the hope that once the cops are no longer breathing down the suspect's neck, the perpetrator will relax and moderate the driving, and other people down the road will be safer.

That reasoning ended up being erroneous as Ramirez was not even close to being finished with his early morning escapades. Spike strips were set up by BCSO deputies who then tried to pull Ramirez over on Interstate 82, who did not comply, so the spike strips were then activated.

The car continued with two blown tires and authorities following, off the freeway to the 4200 block of Clearwater Avenue where the Tuff Shed sign put an end to the crazy.

The suspect was arrested for suspicion of felony eluding police, suspicion of DUI, and on warrants including a previous DUI.

By the way, one of the Pasco PD officers was able to go over to the Benton County Jail to return Ramirez's drivers license, which was mighty kind of them, and to interview him, as Franklin County has some charges they'd like to bring against him, too.