Man Jailed After 40+ Mile Pursuit & Standoff

An East Wenatchee man is behind bars after police say he led them on a lengthy vehicle pursuit that ended in an armed standoff on Monday night.

Trooper Jeremiah Mathews of the Washington State Patrol says the incident began around 7:30 p.m. in the Brewster city limits when officers attempted a traffic stop on 37-year-old Kamil Jelonek, who was wanted for a domestic violence court order violation in Okanogan County.

Mathews says after Jelonek refused to stop he led multiple law enforcement agencies on a chase that covered over 40 miles of U.S. Highway 97 (U.S. 97).

Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Groseclose of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office says when the pursuit ended a few miles north of Orondo, Jelonek armed himself with a knife and barricaded himself in his vehicle.

"Initial de-escalation techniques proved unsuccessful and the East Cascade Crisis Negotiation Team responded along with the East Cascade SWAT Team."

Groseclose says it took officers a little more than two hours to subdue Jelonek.

"Members of the East Cascade SWAT Team used a less-lethal forty-millimeter launcher to knock the knife from Mister Jelonek's hand. Additional less-lethal tools were utilized and Jelonek was taken into custody."

Jelonek was remanded to the custody of the Washington State Patrol and booked into the Okanogan County Jail on a litany of charges, including attempted eluding, resisting arrest, DUI, and malicious mischief.

The standoff closed a four-mile stretch of U.S. 97 for several hours.