Pursuit Leads to Multiple Arrests
On August 25, 2016, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Kalispel Tribal Police made contact with a suspicious vehicle in the Northern Quest Parking lot. The driver of the vehicle was attempting to remove license plates from another vehicle. Upon contact, the vehicle fled after colliding with the Kalispel Police vehicle and a pursuit began. The vehicle traveled into Spokane and ultimately ended up westbound on Interstate 90 from Maple Street.
Washington State Patrol (WSP) troopers got behind the vehicle as it traveled westbound from the top of Sunset Hill on I-90. The vehicle exited onto State Route 904 and traveled into Cheney. The pursuit was terminated after the vehicle proceeded onto the campus of Eastern Washington University for safety reasons. The vehicle travelled back onto SR 904 proceeding westbound towards I-90. Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle again. The vehicle failed to stop and proceeded westbound on I-90.
Troopers attempted a spike strip deployment but it was unsuccessful. As the vehicle proceeded into Adams County, troopers again terminated the pursuit as the vehicle approached a marked construction zone on I-90. Troopers continued to watch the suspect vehicle because of the traffic congestion within the construction zone. After the vehicle exited the construction zone, troopers were able to deploy another spike strip that was successful near the Tokyo exit on I-90.
Troopers then used a Pursuit Immobilization Technique (PIT) to spin the vehicle into the median at milepost 227 just west of Ritzville. The driver and passenger of the suspect vehicle did not exit the vehicle immediately. The male driver, later identified as 49-year-old David Kathrens, armed himself with a handgun and began threatening to kill himself. Troopers negotiated with Kathrens and he eventually surrendered and was taken into custody without incident at approximately 10:30 a.m. Katherns’ passenger, identified as 49-year-old Regina Kathrens was taken into custody and booked into the Adams County Jail on an outstanding warrant. The handgun was recovered and found to be a BB gun.
David Kathrens was booked into the Spokane County Jail on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges including Possession of Stolen Property, Eluding, Unlawful Detention, Reckless Endangerment and other outstanding warrants. There were no injuries as a result of this pursuit and arrest.
Trooper Jeff Sevigney
Public Information & Motor Officer