Mineral County Sheriff’s Office was involved in a high speed pursuit while trying to make a traffic stop on Feb. 1 resulting in the arrest of an out of state alleged bank robbery suspect.
According to a press release from the department, a Mineral County deputy attempted to stop a green Toyota Camry on Highway U.S. 95, mile marker 52 at 11:51 a.m.
The deputy observed that the vehicle did not have valid registration. As they attempted to catch up to the Camry, it became obvious it was not going to stop.
Fleeing from the deputy at a high rate of speed, it entered the town of Hawthorne at approximately 80 miles per hour.
Mineral County deputies pursued the vehicle using a slack pursuit technique “hoping the suspect would slow down.” The driver of the vehicle reversed course and entered back onto the highway from Hawthorne. The pursuit would continue approximately five miles south on Highway U.S. 95. The vehicle came to a stop and the driver was arrested without incident.
The driver, identified as Joseph Arrunategui from Washington State was taken into custody. It would be revealed during the investigation that Arrunategui “had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for robbery.”
According to Clark County Sheriff’s Office in Salmon Creek, Wash. on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at approximately 4:40 p.m. a man robbed the Alaska USA Federal Credit Union branch within the Salmon Creek Albertons.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office explained that the man, described as an adult white male between 20 to 30 years of age with an average build and height had presented a note to the teller and fled on foot after receiving an undisclosed amount of cash.
The man was identified as having a black goatee, wearing a green raincoat with the hood pulled up over his head, dark colored pants, dark colored baseball hat and white and black shoes.
Further investigation by Mineral County deputies would link Arrunategui to a possible second robbery in Grants Pass, Ore. where a Rogue Federal Credit Union branch was robbed on Friday, Jan. 31. No one was injured at either location.
Located in Arrunategui’s vehicle was evidence suggesting that he had been responsible for the robbery out of Washington and Oregon.
Mineral County Undersheriff Bill Ferguson stated, “Thank you to the deputies for being proactive in traffic enforcement and grateful the suspect realized we were not going to give up and surrendered without anyone being hurt.”
Arrunategui is currently housed in the Mineral County Detention Center on charges of reckless driving, R/DOSBH; driver disobey peace officer, endangering other p…; operate unregistered vehicle/trailer/semi and buy/possess/receive stolen property, $650-$3,500. The charges hold a $31,245 fines payable either by bond or cash. The warrant arrest on the charges of robbery has a no bail hold.
