Willmar Shoplifting Call Leads to Pursuit, Manhunt
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A shoplifting report at a hardware store in Willmar turned into a vehicle pursuit and manhunt Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities say two suspects took turns behind the wheel of a grey Mazda, fleeing from police in separate directions before both were eventually taken into custody.
Willmar police were called to a hardware store on South 1st Street around 3:50 p.m. on March 3 after a caller reported a shoplifter leaving the business in a gray Mazda passenger car. The caller gave officers a description of the suspect and the vehicle's license plate number.
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Officers spotted the Mazda a short time later near County Road 5 and Highway 40. When they tried to make a traffic stop, the driver refused to pull over. Instead, he accelerated and took off westbound on Highway 40 at a high rate of speed.
The driver, later identified as Ricardo Gomez, 49, of Willmar, stopped in the area of Highway 40 and 75th Street Southwest and jumped out of the car on foot.
Jessica Bauman, 43, of Clara City, had been riding in the passenger seat. After Gomez bailed, she climbed behind the wheel and sped off from the traffic stop. One officer stayed back near Highway 40 and 75th Street Southwest to begin setting up a perimeter for the foot chase. The other took off after Bauman in the Mazda.
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Bauman led the pursuit into the city of Pennock, where she struck another vehicle at the intersection of Highway 12 and Atlantic Avenue Northeast. She kept going but eventually came to a stop near Horseshoe Drive and Atlantic Avenue. Officers arrested her without further incident.
Back near Highway 40 and 75th Street Southwest, more officers arrived and locked down a perimeter around the area where Gomez had fled on foot. Willmar police and Kandiyohi County deputies conducted a search using drones and a Kandiyohi County K-9 named Loki. Gomez was located and arrested a short time later without incident.
No injuries were reported from either the vehicle pursuit or the manhunt. The Mazda that Bauman was driving and the vehicle she struck in Pennock both sustained moderate damage.
The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office assisted the Willmar Police Department in the response.
Gomez was booked into the Kandiyohi County Jail on charges of fleeing in a motor vehicle, driving after cancellation and fleeing on foot.
Bauman was booked for fleeing in a motor vehicle, failure to stop after a traffic collision, theft and receiving stolen property.
Authorities say two suspects took turns behind the wheel of a grey Mazda, fleeing from police in separate directions before both were eventually taken into custody.