38-mile police chase results in 9-month jail sentence for Warden man

SOAP LAKE — A Warden man received a jail sentence in connection with a 38-mile chase that started in Soap Lake and reached speeds in excess of 110 mph on state Route 17.

Tristan Duplichan, 23, of Warden, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to attempting to elude a police officer and attempted possession of a stolen vehicle and was sentenced to a total of nine months in jail.

In the afternoon hours of March 1 a Soap Lake Police Department officer attempted to pull over a vehicle near Fourth Avenue Southeast and Canna Street South. The vehicle had license plates attached to it that did not match the vehicle and the driver, Duplichan, stopped at first, but then drove off. It was later learned that the vehicle had been previously reported as stolen.

Police and Grant County deputies chased the vehicle for over 20 miles from Soap Lake to Coulee City on SR-17. Authorities chased Duplichan through Coulee City before Duplichan turned onto Pinto Ridge Road. Deputies deployed spike strips on Pinto Ridge Road and the passenger side tires on the vehicle disintegrated.

Duplichan still refused to pull over however and made a turn west onto Highway 28. Soap Lake Police Chief Ryan Cox then initiated the PIT (Pursuit Immobilization Technique) maneuver on the vehicle, which successfully caused the vehicle to rotate and become disabled.

Duplichan and a passenger in the vehicle, Noe Duarte, 29, of Warden, were taken into custody without further incident. Both of the men had confirmed warrants out for their arrest at the time.

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