Wanted Benton County suspect pleads guilty after eluding, hitting van while driving with suspended license
RICHLAND, Wash. — Benton County Prosecutors confirmed that a man with warrants out of the Tri-Cities and Spokane pleaded guilty to an ignition interlock violation and suspended driver’s license charge for a January 2022 incident that ended with a crash.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the incident took place on January 31, 2022, when Benton County deputies decided to run the license plate number of a vehicle driving ahead of them out of a parking lot. Their search returned a positive result for an owner with a suspended driver’s license, leading them to follow behind.
As they prepared to stop the vehicle, the driver turned onto N Kellogg St from W Canal Dr and then into the McDonald’s parking lot. There, deputies attempted to make a traffic stop, but the defendant instead accelerated out of the park of the parking lot onto Skagit Rd.
READ: Wanted man arrested in West Richland school parking lot after fleeing residence
Benton County authorities say the defendant sped down the road, ran a stop sign and veered widely into an oncoming turn lane. The defendant collided with someone’s van and came to a stop off the gravel road near Chuck E. Cheese.
During a recent court appearance, the defendant pleaded guilty to the aforementioned charges while a jury deliberated as to whether or not the man was guilty of attempting to elude a police vehicle with an enhancement for public endangerment.
The jury found this defendant guilty of that charge following testimony from a community member who watched the incident unfold.
A sentencing date has not yet been confirmed by the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office.
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