Three more arrests in Jefferson Co. stolen car chase
Three more people were arrested Tuesday evening in a traffic stop north of Prineville in connection with the pursuit of a stolen car in southern Jefferson County earlier in the day that led to two arrests, Oregon State Police said Wednesday.
Around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, an OSP sergeant tried to pull over a green 1999 Dodge Intrepid displaying Washington license plates for traveling 75 mph in a 55 mph speed zone on Highway 97 near milepost 101 south of Madras, said Lt. Gregg Hastings.
The driver failed to yield and attempted to elude OSP, turning off Highway 97 onto SW Bear Drive where the sergeant lost sight of the vehicle.
OSP notified other agencies as more troopers responded to the area. About an hour later, vehicle tracks were found west of SE Jasper Road near Imbler Lane and the confirmed stolen vehicle was found abandoned shortly after noon, Hastings said/
With the assistance of Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Forest Service law enforcement and a Warm Springs Police K-9, OSP troopers continued searching the area.
Around 1:30 p.m., three suspects were found, but one man ran while officers arrested two others, a man and woman. About an hour later, OSP and assisting officers concluded the area search without finding the third suspect.
The driver was identified as Allison Maye Eldred, 31, of Vancouver, Washington. She was arrested as a fugitive from justice, based on a Washington state warrant held b the Department of Corrections for escaping from community custody. She was lodged in the Deschutes County Jail.
The male arrested was identified as her half-brother, Nicholas S. Eldred 34, of southeast Portland. He was lodged in the Jefferson County Jail on drug possession and manufacture charges, as OSP seized about 50 grams of methamphetamine, Hastings said.
Tuesday evening, OSP troopers, assisted by the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team, identified the man who ran. Dustin James Nash, 42, of La Pine, was arrested by OSP and CODE during a traffic stop north of Terrebonne.
Hastings said an investigation determined Nash had called and arranged to be picked up by two friends as he tried to avoid capture.
Nash was lodged in the Jefferson County Jail on charges of car theft, felony attempt to elude in a vehicle, recklessly endangering another person and meth possession, distribution and manufacture.
The two people in the car with Nash, Benjamin Dean Morganti, 45, and Julia Lynn Pinckney, both of La Pine, also were arrested on charges of hindering prosecution.
The investigation is continuing and more charges may be filed, Hastings said.
