Defendant Stole Car, Rammed Police Vehicle Three Times and
Drove at Another Officer Attempting to Place Spike Strips to Stop Stolen Car
A 33-year-old member of the Quileute
Tribe was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 6 years in
prison for assaulting a federal officer and stealing a car on tribal land,
announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.
JUANITA ELENA PENN-SALAZAR, was arrested April 11, 2018, after a police
chase on the Quileute Reservation in La Push, Washington. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge
Ronald B. Leighton imposed three years of supervised release to follow the
prison term.
According to records filed in the case,
PENN-SALAZAR stole a Toyota Camry outside a small store on the
reservation. She had asked the car’s
owner for a ride and when the owner refused, PENN-SALAZAR smashed the car
window and took the vehicle. A Tribal
police officer responded to the report of a stolen car. As he drove on the reservation looking for
the vehicle, PENN-SALAZAR pulled out from a subdivision and struck the patrol
car. PENN-SALAZAR fled in the stolen car
at speeds over 80 miles-per-hour.
PENN-SALAZAR drove the stolen Camry into the patrol car two more times –
the final time pinning the officer in the car.
Other law enforcement officers pursued PENN-SALAZAR through the
reservation. At one point, she aimed and
accelerated the stolen vehicle at an officer who was placing spike strips to
try to stop the car. Fortunately, that
officer was able to jump out of the way.
Ultimately, PENN-SALAZAR was taken into custody.
Toxicology
reports show PENN-SALAZAR was under the influence of methamphetamine and
marijuana at the time of the chase.
In
September 2018, PENN-SALAZAR pleaded guilty to assault on a federal officer and
theft of a motor vehicle.
The case was investigated by the
FBI. The case was prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Cohen.
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