Toppenish: Shots fired at Yakima Sheriff's deputy

Authorities are on high alert after a deputy was fired upon more than a dozen times by people in a suspicious car outside Toppenish early Saturday.

“We’ll see if we can round these guys up,” said Yakima County Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Udell.

It happened about 12:15 a.m. in the 200 block of Willowtree Lane, where the deputy attempted to stop a suspicious car, a 2001 Chevy Malibu, prowling the neighborhood.

But the slow-moving car wouldn’t stop. Instead, two occupants extended their upper bodies outside opposite sides of the car and fired multiple shots at the deputy, who was not injured.

The deputy, whose name is not being released at this time, quickly turned his patrol car, which also avoided being struck, to one side of the narrow, bumpy road and high-centered in a nearby field. Meanwhile, the car fled West on McDonald Road with the occupants still firing shots. The deputy was unable to get a shot off, Udell said.

About 45 minutes later, the suspect car was found in flames on Harrah Road, South of Fort Road, Udell said.

“(The suspects) knew they put themselves in a spot and burned it,” he said. “We’re looking into ownership of the car and who was driving it. I can tell you we are working some leads, but haven’t made an arrest yet.”

It was the third time in nine months that a deputy has been fired upon in Yakima County.

Last July, a deputy was shot in the leg in Outlook by gang members who targeted him and a fellow deputy.

And in December, a deputy was fired upon by two men suspected of attempting to steal a snow blower and fleeing west on Tieton Drive in a pickup.

One of the men in the pickup began firing at the deputy, who was not injured.

It’s a trend that has authorities concerned.

“It’s getting kind of wild,” Udell said. “You know, when they start shooting at the cops like this, it’s getting to be anything goes with them.”

Anyone with information on the case may call the sheriff’s office at 509-574-2500.


• Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/06/shots-fired-at-yakima-county-sheriff-s-deputy-near-toppenish