Already accused of stealing a car, inmate escaped Butte County Jail and stole a truck, charges say
Published at | Updated at
ARCO — A local man is charged with multiple felonies after police say he stole two vehicles, led officers on a chase and escaped from the Butte County Jail, spending an hour on the lam before he was re-arrested.
Jeramie Rodriguez, 40, faces felony charges of escape, grand theft, and grand theft through possession of stolen property in Butte County. He has also been charged in Jefferson County with felony eluding a peace officer, misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident, misdemeanor driving without privileges and misdemeanor operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs.
Charging documents say that on March 23, about 2 a.m., a Butte County sheriff’s deputy responded to 210 W. Salmon Ave on the report of a suspicious person driving a silver sedan who was bothering dogs outside the residence.
According to a police booking affidavit, the deputy arrived and searched the area for 30 minutes before spotting a vehicle matching the caller’s description. He said the sedan and another vehicle came from behind and drove past the deputy at high speed.
The deputy reported that he was able to stop the sedan, but the other vehicle did not stop. The affidavit does not dot say where that vehicle went.
The driver of the sedan, identified in the charges as Rodriguez, reportedly told the deputy he was “soul-searching” and was “following lights.”
Due to the lack of lighting, the deputy asked Rodriguez to follow him to 275 W. Grand Ave., where the lighting was better, and they would be in the view of security cameras outside the Butte County Sheriff’s Office
Once there, the affidavit says Rodriguez told the deputy he had taken the silver sedan from a Maverik gas station on 1st Street and Woodruff in Idaho Falls. The deputy said Rodriguez also admitted that the vehicle was not his and did not have permission to take it.
Rodriguez was then arrested and booked into the Butte County Jail.
Several hours later, just after 10 a.m., the sheriff’s deputy said he was notified by emergency dispatchers that Rodriguez had escaped from the jail.
“Dispatch advised Rodriguez had been allowed outside into the recreation yard and while there, he managed to bend up the chain-link fencing in the corner of the rec yard in a place which had been damaged previously,” the affidavit states.
Deputies immediately began looking for Rodriguez and soon learned that a gray Ram 1500 pickup truck parked near the jail had been stolen. After learning from the truck’s owner that it had a GPS system, deputies contacted the GPS company to get the truck’s coordinates.
EastIdahoNews.com previously reported that around 11:30 a.m., Idaho State Police and the Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies spotted the truck and initiated a traffic stop on North 800 East between Idaho Highway 28 and Idaho Highway 33. Rodriguez was driving the truck and fled from the trooper who tried to pull him over, according to an ISP report.
This caused the schools in West Jefferson School District 253 to shelter in place.
RELATED | Escaped inmate back behind bars after high-speed chase near Hamer
During the pursuit, the trooper said Rodriguez crashed into a wire fence at the Solid Waste Jefferson Co. and continued driving on the wrong side of the road. At some point in the chase, troopers say speeds reached up to 100 mph.
A spike strip was used to end the pursuit, which resulted in Rodriguez crashing into the trooper’s patrol car, the report says.
When Rodriguez was detained, he reportedly told the trooper that he had consumed methamphetamine the night before and was a chronic user. The report says he also admitted to using the drug at least three times a day.
Roriguez was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Jefferson County at 1 p.m. on Thursday before Magistrate Judge Stephen Clark. For his cases in Butte County, Rodriguez was scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. on Thursday before Magistrate Judge Neal Randall.
Rodriguez faces up to 40 years in prison if he is found guilty.
Though Rodriguez has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.