Chattaroy car chase leads to felony arrest

October 3, 2012

A 26-year-old Spokane man, Jesse Johnson, who took Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase through Chattaroy on Oct. 1, faces numerous felony charges.
The chase started after Crime Check had received reports of a stolen vehicle in Spokane at around 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 1. A short time later, another Crime Check report detailed a shoplifting incident involving the same vehicle at the Safeway store at N10100 Newport Highway.
At around 3 p.m. Deputy R. Cunninghan noticed the stolen vehicle with three occupants traveling southbound on Elk-Chattaroy Road. He was unsuccessful in trying to stop the vehicle.
After a short pursuit, Johnson crashed into a pickup truck at the intersection of Conklin and Blanchard roads. The driver of the truck was not hurt.
Johnson fled the scene, according to a police report. His two passengers said they did not know him and had just hitched a ride. It was later determined that the two, whose names were not released, were associates of Johnson.
The following day, Johnson’s father contacted the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and arranged to have his son taken into custody. Johnson was arrested at the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and Elk-Chattaroy Road.
Johnson was booked into the Spokane County Jail on the felony charges of felony hit-and-run, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, felony eluding and vehicular assault.