MCMINNVILLE, Ore. -- A wanted felon using an alias and on the run from California was caught by McMinnville Police near Linfield College after a high-speed pursuit, a car jump, a crash and a dog chase, all in the space of about 30 seconds, according to the department's captain.
Richard Hoofard of Volcano, Calif. checked into the Motel 6 sometime on Wednesday. Police were tipped off that a fugitive may be nearby and learned that a vehicle registered to the 35-year-old parole violator had been spotted at the motel, Capt. Matt Scales said.
Officers Justin Zemlicka and Arco, a K9 unit, were dispatched, along with other McMinnville Police, to watch the vehicle and determine whether Hoofard was in the Motel 6, according to the department. He was not registered at the motel and police suspected he might be using an alias.
A man walked out and got into Hoofard's vehicle around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and officers waiting nearby followed the suspect as he headed north through McMinnville, Capt. Scales said. As he approached Linfield College, a private university in town, officers attempted a stop.
Hoofard "accelerated rapidly" instead, driving down Linfield Avenue 50 to 60 miles per hour and "weaving erratically," around stopped vehicles and through stop signs, according to police.
"Officers recognized the danger the suspect was presenting to vehicle and foot traffic in the area," and as police discussed cutting him off Hoofard lost control, skidded more than 230 feet and launched through curbs, landscaping and thin air before landing in a Linfield College parking lot, Capt. Scales told KGW.
"From beginning to end, the pursuit lasted approximately 30 seconds," he added.
The suspect scrambled out of his car but Officers Zemlicka and Arco were waiting; they chased him down and arrested him, Scales said.
Hoofard was lodged in Yamhill County Jail, held on $20,000 bond for the laws he broke in Oregon, which included felony elusion, reckless driving, meth possession and using a fake ID.
The California parole violation would keep him in jail without bail, police said.
It was not immediately clear whether California would seek his extradition.
