Rapid search of NCIC hits leads Washington police to wanted felon
“I was looking for stolen property and made a sudden decision to look at our NCIC hits while I waited for a phone call, and it really paid off. I found a rifle pawned in Kennewick that matched a rifle reported stolen out of Adams County, Washington. This led to identifying the offender, who had several aliases, eight felony warrants out of Nevada and one in Utah. The Adams County, Benton County and Elko County investigations led to locating him in Nebraska. When Nebraska authorities made contact with him, he fled in a vehicle and abandoned it to run on foot. He hid in a national park for several days before surrendering. Stolen firearms were located in the pickup he was driving. And to think, it’s all because I was waiting on a phone call.”
Det. Rick Runge
Kennewick Police
Washington