Law enforcement reports
EPHRATA POLICE
The following reports were posted on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025:
A report of suspicious activity was received at 12:12 p.m. Tuesday in the 600 block of Basin Street N.W. Police were told that the Ephrata Senior Thrift Store had just acquired a new truck and store personnel found the truck’s gas cap had been removed and a pair of shoes were left nearby. The store requested extra police patrols in the area and said a locking gas cap would be placed on the truck and it would be parked in a location with better visibility for surveillance video cameras.
A report of a possible home invasion was received at 11:25 a.m. Monday at a residence on F Street S.W. Police were told that the owner came home, found a 15-year-old boy in his daughter’s bed, and called 911. The man’s 15-year-old daughter also arrived at home and initially denied knowing why the boy was in her bedroom. The boy then provided social media posts showing that he had been invited to the residence by the girl. The homeowner said he appreciated the boy’s compliance in explaining the matter and told police that he would have a discussion with his daughter.
A theft was reported at 9:39 a.m. Monday. The complainant said she had left her 2000 Honda Civic parked in a lot at her work site over the weekend. When she returned to work, the car was gone. Video footage from a surveillance camera at the location showed an unknown subject stealing the car around 12:40 a.m. Monday and driving in a northbound direction toward Soap Lake. The report did not specify whether the car had been locked or if the keys were left in it.
GRANT COUNTY SHERIFF
The following reports were posted on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025:
A domestic disturbance was reported at 2:29 p.m. Wednesday at a location on East Montmorency Boulevard in George. The complainant said her boyfriend was fighting with her and pushing her around. Deputies responded and arrested Miguel Angel Tapia Sanchez, 29, Quincy, on suspicion of fourth-degree assault (domestic violence). He was booked into the Grant County Jail.
A domestic disturbance was reported at 11:22 a.m. Wednesday at a rural residence on Road 10-NW. The complainant said her husband had just hit her and was still in the house. Deputies arrested Jose Rene Perez Campos, 31, Ephrata, on suspicion of fourth-degree assault (domestic violence). He was booked into the county jail.
EPHRATA POLICE
The following reports were posted on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025:
At 6:34 a.m. Sunday, police were advised of a trespassing incident and unwanted person at a residence in the 1000 block of Third Avenue N.E. The complainant said a neighbor rang her doorbell several times, then opened her door. An officer contacted the neighbor, who denied opening the door. Both individuals were advised to “give each other some space.”
At 3:16 a.m. Sunday, Ephrata police assisted the Grant County Sheriff’s Office by responding to a domestic violence report at a rural residence in the 8300 block of Road 11.5-NW. The complainant told police that a male family member had been drinking and was hitting his wife and their son. Police were also told that the complainant and male subject had gotten into an earlier argument which threatened to become physical until the mother intervened. An officer then spoke with the son, who was described as too intoxicated to confirm or deny whether any physical altercation occurred.
A theft was reported at 4:45 p.m. Saturday in the 1300 block of Nat Washington Way. Police were told that a male suspect had shoplifted four packs of NBA trading cards from the Ephrata Walmart, then left the store. Store personnel said the man had previously been trespassed from the property.
An assault was reported at 4:05 p.m. Saturday. A male subject told police he had been at the city skate park on A Street S.E. the prior evening and claimed that three other males at the location were trying to give drugs to a 14-year-old girl. The complainant said he confronted the three males, which upset the girl, who allegedly hit the complainant in the face, causing a minor injury to his lips. He provided a written statement to police regarding the incident.
At 8:53 a.m. Friday, a Soap Lake woman called police to say that her son was asleep in a black vehicle parked outside a store in the 1400 block of Basin Street S.W. The woman said she believed her son was driving with a suspended license and was wanted on outstanding court warrants. She wanted her son to be taken into custody and jailed in order to “help get him clean.” An officer responded but did not see the son at the location. The woman was notified.
EPHRATA POLICE
The following reports were posted on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025
At 9:24 a.m. Wednesday, police were notified that an 8-year-old boy riding a bicycle at full speed accidentally struck the rear of an unoccupied Dodge pickup that was legally parked on H Street S.E., south of Division Avenue. Passersby heard the boy crying and initially came to his aid. He sustained unspecified injuries and was transported by ambulance to Columbia Basin Hospital. The collision dented the pickup’s rear bumper and broke a taillight.
A two-vehicle collision was reported at 12:23 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Basin Street and Third Avenue S.W. Police said Alan R. Dillin, 70, Ephrata, was northbound on Basin, stopped for a red traffic light, then attempted to turn right when his 2013 Toyota Tacoma pickup collided with a 2016 Ford Explorer driven by Melany Moreno, 19, Quincy, who was eastbound on Third Avenue. No injuries were reported and the two drivers exchanged information.
A two-vehicle, non-injury collision was reported at 12:06 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Basin Street and Third Avenue S.W. Police said Jennifer D. St. Germain, 44, Ephrata, was attempting to enter the turn lane on Third Avenue when her 2013 Volkswagen struck the rear of a 2009 Hyundai Genesis driven by Kelly S. Owens, 50, Moses Lake. Both vehicles received reportable damage.
A disturbance was reported at 8:31 p.m. Monday in the 1300 block of Basin Street S.W. Police were told a male subject inside the Burger King restaurant had pushed an employee, then left the building. An officer located the man across the street and said he “was not making much sense and appeared to be seeing people (who) were not there.” Burger King personnel declined to press assault charges, but the man was trespassed from the premises.
A two-vehicle, non-injury collision was reported at 6:01 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Basin Street and Division Avenue. Police said a 17-year-old Ephrata boy driving a 2012 Dodge pickup southbound on Basin Street was “lost in thought” when he ran a red light at the intersection. The truck struck a 2012 Chevrolet Captiva SUV driven by Tessa M. Grace, 33, Ephrata, who was westbound on Division. The two drivers exchanged information and both vehicles were driven from the scene.
A theft was reported at 3:21 p.m. Saturday in the 1300 block of Nat Washington Way. Police were told a male subject shoplifted merchandise from the Ephrata Walmart store, then fled. An officer located the suspect, identified as a 69-year-old Ephrata man, in his vehicle in the 500 block of Basin Street S.W. The stolen items were recovered and returned to Walmart. The suspect was trespassed from the store and a report was submitted to the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office for consideration of criminal charges.
GRANT COUNTY SHERIFF
The following reports were posted on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025
While on patrol at 12:19 p.m. Tuesday near Moses Lake, a deputy observed a male motorist driving a Chrysler 300 sedan fail to stop at a stop sign on Airway Drive NE and continue south on State Route 17. The deputy pursued the subject, who then allegedly ran a red traffic light and turned north on Patton Boulevard NE and accelerated past other traffic. The driver and a female passenger then abandoned the car on Vince Road NE, but were detained at the location and taken into custody. The male subject, identified as 24-year-old Rurik Escalera Arreola, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and driving with a suspended license. The female passenger, identified as 31-year-old Abigail Munoz Quintero of Spokane, was arrested on a felony warrant for failure to appear in superior court. She had previously been charged with second-degree burglary and third-degree theft for allegedly shoplifting merchandise at the Moses Lake Walmart store in early April after previously being trespassed from the premises. Both suspects were booked into the Grant County Jail.
On Tuesday, deputies located a wanted subject in the 4200 block of Airway Drive NE near Moses Lake. Antonio Padilla Cisneros, 25, Ephrata, was arrested on a superior court warrant for suspicion of second-degree assault (domestic violence) and booked into the Grant County Jail. Cisneros was accused of choking a 50-year-old female family member during a domestic disturbance on Aug. 15 at a rural Ephrata residence in the 5800 block of Road 10-NW.
EPHRATA POLICE
The following reports were posted on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025
A disturbance was reported at 10:40 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 11, by a 33-year-old man who alleged he was sprayed with bear mace by a 38-year-old man armed with a pick axe who threatened to kill him. Officers located the two men, both from Ephrata, near the railroad tracks at Third Avenue N.W. At the time, neither man wanted to pursue criminal charges against the other. A reason for the dispute was not specified. The 33-year-old was treated at the scene by EMS personnel for irritation from the bear spray.
At 2:33 p.m. Monday, police were informed that an older male subject was observed lying in grass waving his arms in an area where sprinklers were operating near Ping Pond at Oasis Pond. The reporting party stopped and assisted the 77-year-old Soap Lake man, who was legally blind and struggling to get up after falling. Local police contacted a Soap Lake police officer who was in Ephrata at the time and arranged to transport the man back home.
A disturbance was reported at 8:35 p.m. Monday in the first block of Basin Street S.W. Police were told that two motel tenants were yelling and possibly arguing. An officer contacted one tenant who claimed that the other tenant was harassing him with satanism. The officer advised the man to keep the noise down.
