Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
TELFORD — A chase involving a stolen car, false report of a mass shooting and abducted pigs ended near the Rest Area in a spooky turn of events for the alleged victims Tuesday, Oct. 31.
According to police records, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputy Kurt Cuzzetto saw a gold 2001 Chevrolet Silverado followed closely by another vehicle in Creston.
The driver of the second car said the Silverado belonged to his friend and had been stolen in Chelan, according to records.
The Silverado was eastbound on U.S. Highway 2 with Cuzzetto in pursuit, speeding up to 100 mph while ignoring police lights, according to records.
Meanwhile, dispatch said a man called 911 to claim there was a mass shooting with casualties at the gas station in Creston, a quickly disproven claim to divert Cuzzetto from the stolen car, according to records.
The female driver, who was later identified as Samantha Felicitii Scharff, 25, of Spokane, swerved off the highway near Milepost 235 and ran through a barbed-wire fence, over a 10-foot rock embankment and into a field owned by Cecilia Kostal.
Scharff and her male passenger, later identified as Cody A. Moore, 25, of Coeur d’Alene, took off running, records state. Cuzzetto caught up to Scharff and arrested her.
He then found five pigs in the back of the Silverado, according to records, along with a Visa debit card and Washington identification card.
Moore ran away from the scene but was later arrested by deputy Dain Harden on U.S. Highway 2 just west of Telford Road, records state.
Scharff told Cuzzetto that Moore called 911 to falsely report the Creston shooting, records state.
Scharff was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, second-degree possession of stolen property, attempting to elude a police vehicle, third-degree malicious mischief and possession of another’s identification.
She pleaded not-guilty at an arraignment Tuesday, Nov. 7. A trial date of Jan. 3 was given.
Moore was charged with attempting to elude a police vehicle, false reporting to a public officer and obstructing a law enforcement officer. His arraignment was continued to Tuesday, Nov. 14.
Both were booked into Lincoln County Jail and remained there on $20,000 bail apiece at press time.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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