By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
A chase that began near Hays led to the arrest of two individuals and the recovery of a stolen vehicle following a high-speed pursuit that ended in Ness County.
At 1:57 p.m. Tuesday, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper attempted to pull over 2009 Chevy Impala on Interstate 70 near the Highway 183 Alternate exit, according to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman.
The Impala was clocked at 99 mph, and when the trooper ran a check on the license plate, it was found to have been stolen.
Initially, the driver of the Impala, Ian M. Sinnett, 39, Salina, stopped the vehicle on U.S. 183 Alternate. However, neither Sinnett nor a passenger in the vehicle, Valerie Jo Waggoner, 37, Salina, would comply with officer commands, and Sinnett again started driving south.
They traveled on U.S. 183 to County Line Road then began turning west and south on various county roads while being pursued until around 2:30 p.m. when the vehicle came to a stop at the intersection of GG Road and Kansas Highway 4, Hileman said.
After stopping, the suspects complied with officers and were taken into custody.
Sinnett was found to have two active warrants from Reno County and has a criminal history that includes theft and burglary dating to 2014.
In 2017, he was convicted of felony theft stemming from two separate felony cases that were charged against him after he tried to sell automotive parts that he had stolen to the brother of the victim.
He was released on parol on March 25, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records.
Along with the 2017 convictions, Sinnett was also found guilty of falsely reporting a crime in 2015 and theft in 2014.
He has also been arrested several times for alleged parole violations in Saline County.
The police pursuit is expected to lead to Sinnett being charged with allegedly fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement, along with several traffic and speeding violations, according to Hileman.
Waggoner also has a criminal history, having been convicted of theft and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia in 2014. She was discharged from parole on August 22, 2016, but was arrested in Septemeber of last year for allegedly driving while being a habitual violator and no proof of insurance or vehicle registration.
“What happens now is up to the county attorneys,” Hileman said.
The recovered vehicle was confirmed to have been stolen from Lawrence on June 10 by Lawerence police Sgt. Amy Rhoads.
“Two subjects, one male and one female that I met earlier in the day on the northeast side of Topeka, were staying at the Days Inn in Lawrence,” the report said.
“While I was in the bathroom, the female subject yelled that they were taking my car to go to McDonald’s. Before I was able to tell them no, they grabbed my keys from a table in the room and left with my car and did not return.”
The victim believed at the time they might be heading to Portland, Ore.
“The car was a gift from my father who passed away a little over two years ago,” the report said. “It was his pride and joy. I’m a disabled man with congestive heart failure.”