Man Charged With Attempting to Elude Officers Fails to Appear for Court Hearing

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A man charged with running from police in August failed to appear to his first hearing in the case in Lewis County Superior Court Tuesday, and is now wanted on a $25,000 warrant. 

Raymond Phillip Juarez, 47, of Centralia, was charged on Nov. 2 in Lewis County Superior Court — two months after the alleged crimes — with attempting to elude a police vehicle, possession of heroin and hit and run and was sent a summons to appear Tuesday for his preliminary hearing in the case. 

According to court documents, on Oct. 24, a Centralia police officer saw a vehicle driving erratically in the area of the 1300 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia. The officer began pursuing the vehicle, and the driver accelerated. The officer activated his emergency lights and followed. 

The vehicle crashed into the bridge at Schaffer Park and the driver got out and ran. The officer, Ruben Ramirez — one of Centralia’s K9 officers — deployed his dog, which caught the driver by his boot and held onto him until Ramirez arrived. 

The driver was identified as Juarez, and police reported finding a capped syringe containing a liquid later identified as heroin in his pocket.