Apparatus

Police: Man Tries to Steal WA Fire Vehicle at Burning Car Scene

June 15, 2021

Chelan Fire and Rescue crews were putting out a station wagon fire when the driver, who appeared to be intoxicated, allegedly got into a department vehicle and tried to drive off with it.

By Pete O'Cain

Source The Wenatchee World, Wash.

Chelan, WA, firefighters were putting out a burning station wagon when a man tried to drive off with a department vehicle Sunday.

CHELAN, WA—An Ephrata man tried to steal a fire district's pickup while crews worked to put out his burning car alongside Highway 97.

Firefighters with Chelan Fire and Rescue were called at 11:13 p.m. Sunday to milepost 240 five miles north of Chelan where a station wagon was fully engulfed in flames, the department said in a news release.

As they were working to keep the fire from spreading into brush, a Chelan County deputy saw 41-year-old Timothy Vincent Ellis climb into the district's pickup and had his hand on the gear shift when the deputy began pulling him out of the truck, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Chelan County Superior Court.

The deputy believed Ellis to be highly intoxicated; troopers with the Washington State Patrol later determined that Ellis was the driver of the station wagon, the affidavit said.

Ellis was arrested on suspicion of attempted theft of a motor vehicle, DUI and second-degree driving with a suspended license. He was booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center.

Ellis was expected to make a preliminary appearance Monday afternoon in Superior Court.

___

Visit The Wenatchee World (Wenatchee, Wash.) at www.wenatcheeworld.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.