Pair nabbed after bi-state chase
POST FALLS — An alert Post Falls Police Department employee who recognized a stolen vehicle led to the arrest of two suspects after a chase that started in Post Falls and ended in Spokane Valley Thursday night.
During the pursuit, as driver Amber M. Vazquez, 28, Spokane, tried to evade capture, her husband, Adolfo D. Vazquez, 32, broke the rear window out of the stolen van and threw a gas-powered weed trimmer, metal rakes, gas can and other items onto the road, police said.
"It caused an extreme traffic danger, not only for the pursuing vehicles but for the motoring public," said Spokane County Sheriff's Office Spokesman Mark Gregory.
Both suspects were arrested after the van crashed and a foot pursuit followed at Pines and Interstate 90.
Amber Vazquez was charged with attempting to elude, theft of a motor vehicle, obstructing and driving while suspended. Her husband was charged with vehicle theft, two counts of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, obstructing and resisting arrest.
Post Falls Police Capt. Greg McLean said the van's owner went to the police station on Thursday to provide a description of the vehicle that had been stolen out of Spokane earlier in the day after she learned her stolen credit cards were being used at Post Falls businesses.
"A detective put out an email describing the van and in the evening one of our employees (Bridget Eismann) was headed to Wal-Mart and saw it so she phoned it in," McLean said. "As the officer was responding, the van was exiting Wal-Mart. When the officer tried to initiate a stop at Mullan and Highway 41, the suspects fled on the interstate and into Washington."
On the interstate, as deputies moved in to try to safely end the pursuit, Adolfo Vazquez leaned halfway out the window and threw a metal shovel and a Pulaski (ax) at the patrol cars causing the deputies to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being struck, Gregory said.
Amber Vazquez took the Pines exit and lost control of the vehicle, causing it to slide off the roadway into a dirt field.
Both suspects jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot, according to the sheriff's office. Spokane Valley Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jason Hunt — a former Press photographer and Post Falls police officer — and his K9 partner, Gunnar, exited their patrol vehicle and Hunt made several announcements Gunnar would be used if the pair didn’t stop. After they continued to run, Hunt deployed Gunnar, who quickly caught Adolfo Vazquez.
Another deputy caught Amber Vazquez as she continued to run.