Two Jailed After Alleged Burglary & Vehicle Chase Near Ephrata

Two people are behind bars after allegedly leading police on a vehicle pursuit in Grant County after committing a burglary in neighboring Douglas County.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office says it unfolded at around 2 p.m. when deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a burglary in progress in the Rimrock Meadows area about 18 miles west of Ephrata.

Grant County Sheriff's spokesperson, Kyle Foreman, says the two suspects fled the area in a minivan before deputies could get to the scene.

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"A short time later, one of the responding deputies then passed the minivan as it was traveling towards Ephrata on Sagebrush Flats Road. The deputy then positioned himself behind the minivan and tried to pull it over, but the driver did not stop."

Foreman says a pursuit ensued which continued south on Sagebrush Flats Road for several miles before the minivan went off the road in an attempt to shake trailing deputies near Johnson Road Northwest.

The minivan then became stuck and its two occupants attempted to flee on foot, but were quickly tracked down and apprehended by deputies.

The driver, 31-year-old Fernando Camarena of Wenatchee, was taken to Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake for a medical evaluation before being booked into the Grant County Jail for suspicion of residential burglary and attempting to elude police.

Camarena's passenger and accomplice, 30-year-old Katie Wenz of Moses Lake, was remanded to the custody of Douglas County deputies and booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center for suspicion of vehicle prowling in the first degree and third-degree theft.