Soap Lake man leads police on Route 28 chase

EPHRATA - A Soap Lake man allegedly led Ephrata police on a high speed chase heading north out of Ephrata and into Soap Lake.

Nikolay Alksandr Kozlov, 32, was arrested Monday for eluding a police vehicle after officers received a call at 5:40 a.m. of a vehicle entering Ephrata at speeds close to 100 mph, according to reports made public Tuesday.

Officers located the vehicle, a black Mercedes SUV, heading north out of Ephrata onto state Route 28. The suspected vehicle reached speeds near 150 mph during pursuit.

According to reports, Kozlov allegedly drove in the wrong lane the entire length of the highway to Lakeview, about four miles.

Kozlov was eventually stopped and arrested at the corner of Daisy Street and Third Avenue Northeast near the Soap Lake campgrounds.

Officers began looking for Kozlov's vehicle just before 5 a.m. Monday after receiving a call from Warren Becker, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife employee, who said Kozlov pulled up in his vehicle on Alder Street Northwest while Becker was getting his boat ready for work. Kozlov asked Becker what town he was in and what time it was. Becker told officers Kozlov then "flipped a switch" and began screaming and pointing at the government emblem on the Fish and Wildlife truck. Becker added Kozlov was very angry and was unable to make sense of what Kozlov was saying. Kozlov then allegedly stopped yelling, walked back to his vehicle and drove off, Becker said.

Kozlov is booked into Grant County Jail.

Grant County deputies assisted in the incident.