3 arrested in connection with Adams County pursuit

OTHELLO — Three people were arrested in Adams County over the weekend following a high-speed chase that reached speeds in excess of 100 mph.

About 10:20 a.m. on Sunday, deputies with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office attempted to perform a traffic stop on a Nissan Altima that was occupied by three people. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Jimmy Esparza, 32, reportedly failed to pull over and continued driving about 20 mph north on South Taylor Road, near Othello.

At some point Esparza exited the vehicle and another man in the Altima, identified as Armando Perez, hopped behind the wheel and sped away. Perez allegedly fled from deputies at speeds in excess of 100 mph. He ended up losing control of the Nissan and collided with a berm, which launched the vehicle into the air and caused it to roll several times.

Perez and a third passenger in the Nissan, Paige H. Arurang, were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash but sustained only minor injuries and received treatment at a local hospital. The ACSO says Arurang was not cooperative when he was first contacted by deputies and he ended up getting tased.

Perez was booked into the Adams County Jail for eluding a police officer and driving with a suspended license. A possible charge of possession of a controlled substance is pending the outcome of testing of a substance, believed to be cocaine, that was found in Perez’ pocket. Arurang was booked on outstanding warrants and as an accomplice. Esparza, who was later located and captured by deputies, was booked for driving with a suspended license and failure to obey a law enforcement officer.

Cunningham Road was closed between Railroad Avenue in Othello and Danielle Road in the Edson Tracts area for several hours on Sunday as the collision scene was cleared and deputies investigated the incident.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at rbyrd@columbiabasinherald.com.