Escaped Felon Arrested After High-Speed Chase
An escaped felon accused of robbing a Whitman County man at gunpoint led authorities on a high-speed chase through three counties before being arrested Wednesday night in Spokane.
Jacob E. Miller, 23, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of escape, burglary, robbery and eluding police.
Miller escaped from a work-release center in Longview, Wash., on Halloween and is suspected of hiding out in Whitman County since then, sheriff’s Sgt. Don Anderson said.
About 2 p.m. Wednesday, Miller allegedly robbed 60-year-old Adrian Townsend at gunpoint inside Townsend’s Klemgard Road home south of Pullman.
“He was an acquaintance of Townsend’s family,” Anderson said.
Miller stole less than $20 from Townsend, but helped himself to at least seven of the victim’s guns, according to Anderson.
The robber then bound Townsend with duct tape, cut the telephone lines and stole the man’s 1996 Dodge Ram truck, Anderson said.
At 2:45 p.m., sheriff’s deputies and State Patrol troopers spotted the truck on state Highway 195 near Colton. The resulting chase hit speeds of more than 100 mph.
At one point, Miller left the highway and drove through wheat fields, crossing into Idaho.
The Idaho State Patrol took up the chase near Genesee, Idaho, shortly before 4 p.m.
About two hours later, Spokane County sheriff’s deputies spotted Miller northbound on Highway 195.
“We proceeded with caution because it was rumored that he said he would not be taken alive,” said Lt. David Wiyrick of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.
Miller pulled over and was arrested without incident near the Interstate 90 interchange in Spokane.
, DataTimes