Crime Stoppers tips lead to suspect who escaped from deputies by becoming sneaky semi-truck stowaway
FUGITIVE CAPTURED April 6, 2016 --
The Lewis County Sheriff Enforcement Team and Centralia Police officers arrested Washington's Most Wanted suspect, Ruben Inman, in the Centralia area on Wednesday.
"Thank you to Crime Stoppers of Lewis County and everyone's assistance in the capture of Inman," said Lewis County Sgt. Dan Riordan.
Inman is WMW Capture #756
FUGITIVE WANTED IN LEWIS COUNTY March 25, 2016 --
The hunt is on for a suspect who ran from deputies, then hid underneath the trailer of a semi-truck to make his getaway.
The Lewis County deputies were only a few steps behind the suspect they say is wanted fugitive Ruben Inman but once they realized where he was hiding -- the escape artist was already rolling down the freeway.
It’s a truck tale of a great escape that may be told for generations around the town of Toledo.
It all started on Scott Johnson’s property where a man and a woman somehow got their car stuck in the mud. "They were just tearing the yard up," Johnson said. “And you could tell he was on drugs. He was rubbing his arms constantly and she was just weird.”
It got even weirder after Johnson said the clearly intoxicated driver tried to follow him into his house. Johnson called the cops who caught up with the guy at the nearby ‘Gee Cee's Truck Stop.”
At one point the man hid from deputies, behind the cash register in the restaurant, but that was nothing compared to his next hiding spot. A surveillance camera captured Inman’s disappearing act as he hid in a plastic compartment, in the underbelly of the trailer of a semi-truck. A deputy even walked right by and didn't see him. When the trucker rolled away, so did Inman.
When investigators asked to see the surveillance, they saw the great escape. "We never in our wildest imagination would think that someone would hide in a tractor trailer like this going down the freeway for such a distance," said Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza.
150 miles away In arlington. Where They caught up with the trucker 150 miles away in Arlington and expected to find Inman, who by then, they realized was wanted on felony warrants -- but when they looked in under the trailer all they found has his hat.
The trucker told investigators he hit traffic around Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Pierce County. Detectives think the stop-and-go traffic gave Inman an opportunity to get out and getaway.
If you know where he's hiding now, call an anonymous tip into:
CRIME STOPPERS: 1-800-222-TIPS
You must call the Crime Stoppers hotline with your tip to be eligible to receive a cash reward for information leading to a fugitive’s arrest.