Homeless man steals weed wackers, leads police on high-speed chase

No injuries, damage to bicycle, car before arrest

IAN SMAY, Evergreen reporter

Pullman Police arrested a man after he led officers of multiple departments on a high-speed chase through Pullman before being arrested outside of Palouse Wednesday afternoon.

Officers arrested 37-year-old Shane Hagedorn, a homeless man whose last known address is listed in Spokane, after he ran from police in Moscow and Pullman, Pullman PD Cmdr. Chris Tennant said.

The chase started after Hagedorn allegedly stole landscaping equipment from Tri-State Outfitters in Moscow, said Roger Lanier, Moscow Police operations division captain.

After learning Hagedorn had entered Washington toward Pullman, officers waited for him near the intersection of Terre View Drive and State Route 270, Tennant said. The chase reached speeds of 100 mph and continued on Main Street, where the 2003 silver Dodge Durango then went on to the sidewalk, he said.

“It hit a bicycle and the bicycle was pushed into a car causing minor damage. The Durango kept on the sidewalk for about 150 feet,” Tennant said.

He also said while the move was dangerous as people were on the sidewalk, no one was injured.

“There was a potential for injury there but it wasn’t narrowly avoided or anything,” Tennant said.

Hagedorn then drove onto State Route 27 before stopping near Palouse, where he was arrested without incident, Tennant said. There has been no indication the vehicle, which had Washington plates, was stolen.

The suspect was arrested on charges of third-degree possession of stolen property, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, reckless driving, first-degree driving with a suspended license, possession of a controlled substance and unattended hit-and-run.

Police recovered what they believe to be heroin and have requested a search warrant for the vehicle, Tennant said.

“If we are granted a search warrant, we will execute it and there might be additional charges after that,” he said.

Moscow PD is still looking for an additional male suspect for theft who was not present in the car during the chase, Lanier said.

Update: A previous version of this post made it unclear if the vehicle was stolen. It has been updated to reflect that police do not know if it was stolen.