Woman Faces Charges for 110 MPH Chase With Centralia Police in September

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A Tacoma woman is facing charges in Lewis County Superior Court for leading Centralia police on a 110 mile-per-hour chase in September that ultimately ended when she crashed into a tree in Thurston County. 

Centralia Police Department officers were initially dispatched at 11:36 a.m. on Sept. 17 to a theft complaint at the Hanes Outlet Store in the 1300 block of Lum Road. While on their way to the scene, the officers were advised that the two suspects — an unidentified male and a woman later identified as Silvia Maria Villagomez, 28, of Tacoma — had fled from the store in a vehicle that had duct tape over the license plate. 

Officers located the vehicle near the Chevron on Harrison Avenue and pursued with lights and sirens activated, according to Lewis County Superior Court documents. The suspect vehicle then ran a red light onto the northbound ramp of Interstate 5 and continued to drive — swerving between vehicles and reaching speeds in excess of 110 mph. The vehicle exited at Exit 88, ran a red light and turned west over the freeway — at which point the male passenger, who was supposedly driving until that point, allegedly bailed out of the vehicle and left Villagomez to take the wheel.

The vehicle got onto the off-ramp for southbound I-5 and continued to drive north in the southbound lanes. At this point, Centralia police terminated the pursuit, but noticed that the suspect’s vehicle had turned around again and was now driving with traffic on southbound I-5. Officers attempted to resume the pursuit, but terminated again when the suspect vehicle again drove northbound in the southbound lanes, forcing officers and citizen drivers to take evasive action to avoid a collision. 

Thurston County authorities soon located the vehicle after it had run off the road and struck a tree, according to the court documents, and Villagomez was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Inside the vehicle, police found clothing items with the tags on them from both Hanes and Carter’s valued in excess of $1,000, along with a Ziploc bag of heroin. According to Villagomez, the male suspect, who she knew only as “Lawrence,” had wanted her to steal clothes for him and for his children. 

Villagomez was charged with one count of attempting to elude a police vehicle, second-degree theft and possession of a controlled substance, heroin. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years incarceration and up to $10,000 in fines; but because the police chase threatened the safety of both the pursuing officer and civilians, the maximum sentence for that charge is increased by a year and a day. 

Villagomez was scheduled for a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Jan. 26, but did not show for her 4 p.m. court summons. Judge James W. Lawler approved a warrant for her arrest and set bail at $20,000.