An Olympia man who allegedly went on a “four-day crime spree” in the Centralia area last week and repeatedly fled from Centralia officers was arrested in Thurston County Sunday morning.
The man, identified by the Centralia Police Department as David M. Rangel, 32, is accused of breaking the windshield of a family member’s vehicle at the intersection of Windsor Avenue and Vienna Street just before 8:50 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11. He allegedly went into the backyard of a private residence while fleeing from police.
The next day, Rangel allegedly stole a vehicle and used it as the “getaway vehicle” for a theft of almost $2,000 in clothing from an outlet in the 1200 block of Lum Road. The vehicle was reported stolen just before 9:25 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 12, and the theft to the outlet store was reported just after 11:50 a.m. that same day.
At approximately 11 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, officers with the Centralia Police Department reportedly attempted to stop Rangle in a blue Chevrolet Camaro. Rangel allegedly “fled at a high rate of speed through a residential area, failing to stop at multiple signs, and then drove the wrong way on Harrison Avenue” onto northbound Interstate 5, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Officers did not pursue Rangel “due to current state laws,” according to the Centralia Police Department.
Several hours later, at 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14, the Flock Safety camera system reportedly located Rangel driving at the intersection of Mellen Street and Military Road. An officer utilized a spike strip when Rangel fled, disabling the right front tire of the stolen vehicle Rangel was driving.
“As it became apparent Rangel was not going to stop, officers shut off their emergency lights and sirens and followed Rangel as he drove northbound on I-5 for safety reasons while his tire disintegrated,” according to the Centralia Police Department.
As Rangel approached milepost 88 on I-5, he “slowed his vehicle and jumped out of it, fleeing westbound on foot, crossing the southbound lanes of I-5 into the wooded area near Grand Mound,” according to the Centralia Police Department. A Centralia officer positioned his vehicle in front of the still-moving vehicle Rangel abandoned, stopping it “before anyone was hurt,” the Centralia Police Department stated.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist and deployed K9 Igo, who tracked Rangel for over an hour to a relative’s address about 2 miles away.
“K9 Igo tracked over numerous fences and ended up at the back of a residence, where the suspect was located inside,” the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit said in a Facebook post Sunday morning.
Rangel was arrested there without further incident, according to the Centralia Police Department.
He was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 8:40 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14, and faces multiple possible felony charges, including two counts of eluding, two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle and one count of second-degree theft.
Charges had not been formally filed in Lewis County Superior Court Monday afternoon, since the court was closed for the holiday.
If charges are filed, Rangel will likely have a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
