High-speed chase suspect apprehended by K-9 unit

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — A report of a fight in progress over the weekend evolved into a brief high speed chase, followed by the suspect fleeing on foot and being apprehended by a K-9 unit.

According to the criminal complaint filed this week, an officer responding to a report of people fighting at 2:19 a.m. Sunday didn’t find an altercation, but did see an SUV drive through an alley parallel to Okabena Street at a high rate of speed — about 50 to 60 miles per hour. The officer activated his lights and pursued the SUV until the driver tried to make a left turn onto Dover Street. The SUV jumped the curve and came to a stop on the boulevard, the complaint states.

The officer approached and saw a male leave the vehicle and run between a house and garage on Dover Street. A woman lying on the grass near the driveway said she did not know what was going on. Having lost sight of the suspect, the officer collected a cell phone and some clothing from the SUV. While he searched the vehicle, a K-9 unit searched the area, locating the suspect in a few minutes.

The suspect, identified as Khamphay Buarapha, 23, of LaCrosse, Wis., showed symptoms and signs of intoxication. When asked what he was doing there, Buarapha allegedly stated he was “waiting for Henry to get off work.” When the officer escorted Buarapha to his squad car, the cell phone the officer had confiscated from the vehicle rang. Buarapha said the phone was his, then told the officer “that girl” had taken his vehicle. He asked if he could use his phone to call his girlfriend, then asked if he could be released if he “snitched.”

During an interview at the law enforcement center, Buarapha allegedly stated he was “drunk and screwed up,” and had taken off when he saw the light on the squad car because he did not want to get another DWI.

He is charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, driving while impaired and driving without a valid license. An application for a public defender was approved, and bail is set at $1,500.

Tags: news, high-speed, chase, suspect, apprehended, k-9, unit