Juveniles lead Ontario Police on high-speed chase after stolen vehicle spree
By Joe Hathaway on Monday, June 24th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
ONTARIO — (Release by Ontario Police) On 6/19/24 at approximately 3:00 p.m., Ontario Police Officers recovered a stolen vehicle from Nampa, Idaho, in the area of Simplot (NE 2nd Street & NE 5th Avenue) after the vehicle was reported as a reckless driver. At the time of recovery, the vehicle was unoccupied, and information indicated that a male suspect left with another male in a white passenger car. Officers believe the white passenger car is a stolen vehicle from Payette City that had been taken earlier in the week. It’s currently unknown where this vehicle is and is under investigation by the Payette Police Department.
At around 6:52 p.m., Ontario Police Officers were dispatched back to the Simplot area in response to a report of a reckless and speeding black SUV. It’s believed that the individuals in the SUV were attempting to relocate the previously recovered stolen vehicle.
Ontario Police Officers located the black SUV parked in the area of NE 4th Street and NE 3rd Avenue. Officers attempted to contact the SUV and its two occupants. The individuals fled from officers in the SUV and subsequently collided with a pickup at the intersection of NE 4th Street and E Idaho Avenue. The occupants of the pickup received medical attention at the scene but were not transported by medical personnel.
The SUV then pulled into the J&J Corner Store parking lot and struck the northeast corner of the building. Both individuals in the SUV fled from the vehicle. A taser was deployed on one of the fleeing individuals, leading to his immediate apprehension by Ontario Police Officers. The other individual continued to flee on foot, and Officers were unable to locate him. The Oregon State Police responded to the scene to investigate the crash, while the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist in locating the second fleeing suspect. It was determined that the black SUV was a stolen vehicle from Boise, Idaho.
At approximately 9:36 p.m., Ontario Police Officers were dispatched to the area of NE 2nd Avenue and NE 4th Street as the second involved subject was seen running in that area. Officers searched the area, and with the assistance of citizens pointing out the direction in which the subject was running, they were able to locate and apprehend the second subject without further incident near NE 2nd Street and NE 3rd Avenue.
Officers also discovered a third stolen vehicle out of Ontario, Oregon parked at Jackson’s on E Idaho Avenue. This vehicle was stolen after the crash by the subject who had initially evaded apprehension.
Both arrested subjects are juvenile males from Washington State. Both juveniles were cleared medically and turned over to the Malheur County Juvenile Department for in-custody placement.
Both juveniles are facing multiple charges, including three counts of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, four counts of Criminal Mischief I, Failure to Perform the Duties of a Driver, Elude, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangerment, Harassment and Runaways.
The Ontario Police Department would like to thank the Oregon State Police, Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, Malheur County Juvenile Department, Treasure Valley Paramedics, Ontario Fire & Rescue, Simplot, Simplot Security, and alert citizens for their assistance regarding these multiple incidents.
