Athena man arrested following high-speed pursuit
By Dan Thesman on Thursday, March 16th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Pendleton police arrested Cody James Boede, 18, of Athena early Wednesday morning at Southeast Court Avenue and Goad Road after he eluded police who recognized the vehicle as one possibly involved in another case.
The Pendleton Police Department issued the following news releases detailing the events that led to Boede’s arrest:
On March 15, 2022 at 11:58 p.m., a Pendleton patrol officer observed a vehicle traveling
northbound on the SE Third Street interchange. The officer recognized the vehicle as one possibly
involved in a prior case. When the officer turned around on the vehicle, he noticed that the driver
of the other vehicle increased his speed. The officer caught up to the vehicle just as the driver
made a right turn onto SE Court Avenue, ignoring the red light. The officer activated his
emergency lights to stop the vehicle for the red-light violation, however the driver sped up in an
attempt to evade the officer.
The officer initiated a pursuit of the vehicle east on SE Court Avenue and onto South Market Road. Speeds reached up to 95 miles per hour when the driver of the suspect vehicle turned off the vehicle lights and turned off road into a field. The officer did not pursue into the field. A short time later, the suspect vehicle returned to the roadway from the field by crashing through a barbwire fence. The driver of the vehicle traveled back toward Pendleton at a high rate of speed with the officer giving chase. The driver of the suspect vehicle attempted to make the left turn onto Goad Road, but due to the speed, the driver lost control and crashed. The vehicle ended up on its passenger side.
As the officer was pulling up, a male was observed climbing out of the driver’s side front window. The male was detained while other responding officers located a female in the rear passenger seat. She was removed from the vehicle and evaluated by medics, but ultimately refused treatment. After concluding the investigation, Cody J. Boede, a 18-year-old Athena resident was taken into custody for Attempt to Elude, Reckless Driving, Hit and Run and Recklessly Endangering Another Person. Boede was lodged at the Umatilla County Jail. The entirety of the pursuit last approximately 5 minutes.
