Incident in Moses Lake leaves one dead, two arrested
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a female Wednesday saying she had been robbed and assaulted by three suspects. Deputies later spotted the car and arrested two females. A male in the car attempted to flee, prompting a high-speed pursuit.
COURTESY PHOTO/GCSO
MOSES LAKE — One man died following a high-speed pursuit, while two women have been taken into custody on charges of robbery and unlawful imprisonment following an incident early Wednesday morning in Moses Lake, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
“This investigation is underway, and detectives are gathering evidence, and once we're able to share more information, we will do so immediately,” GCSO Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman said.
The incident, which unfolded around 4:30 a.m., began with a 911 call from a female victim who reported a robbery and assault. The victim, whose identity has not been disclosed, called from a residence in the 4900 block of Road L.9 Northeast, about five miles north of Moses Lake. The woman claimed that she had been robbed and beaten by two women and pistol-whipped by a man, according to GCSO.
She told the authorities that she had been held against her will for approximately two hours.
The victim provided descriptions of her assailants, including several street names that would later assist law enforcement in identifying the suspects and location, according to GCSO.
Deputies were able to connect the street names provided by the victim to actual names. Deputies were then able to link the suspects to specific vehicles.
The victim had told deputies that two women and a male had left in one vehicle prior to police arrival.
GCSO deputies spotted a vehicle described by the victim at a drive-thru on Wheeler Road. Law enforcement from GCSO and the Moses Lake Police Department intercepted the vehicle on Third Avenue.
Two women, identified as 36-year-old Champagne Garza and 30-year-old Becky Avalos, exited the vehicle and surrendered to authorities without incident. They are detained in the Grant County Jail for suspicion of first-degree robbery and unlawful imprisonment.
However, the situation took a turn after one male occupant of the car jumped into the driver’s seat and initiated a high-speed flight from law enforcement.
The pursuit concluded when the driver failed to negotiate a curve on Lakeshore Drive, which is located just south of the I-90 overpass. He lost control of the vehicle, crashed through a fence and struck a utility pole before ultimately coming to a halt beside the pole. Emergency responders arrived on the scene but pronounced the driver dead.
A statement from Grant Public Utility District said the crash resulted in around 1,000 customers in the Peninsula area losing electricity. Grant PUD had restored power to around 850 customers by 6 a.m., with 150 customers still without power due to the ongoing investigation GCSO was conducting. As of 8 a.m., all customers' power had been restored.
The GCSO is withholding the identity of the deceased male pending notification of the next of kin.
Following the incident, the Washington State Patrol is overseeing the investigation into the crash, as law enforcement deputies from the GCSO were involved in the pursuit.
“We've asked the Washington State Patrol to conduct the investigation, to have a fair and impartial assessment,” Foreman said.
The authorities have emphasized that this incident was not random. A GCSO statement said that all parties involved had prior associations with each other.
“This is early and preliminary information that is subject to change,” Foreman said. “Some information is being withheld to protect the investigation.”
The Columbia Basin Herald will provide an update as more information is released.