LaPorte County- On Thursday afternoon at approximately 3:20 p.m., Trooper Jacob Raupp observed a silver Ford Taurus traveling 80 m.p.h. on State Road 2 east of LaPorte. Trooper Raupp caught up to the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop on it; however, as the officer exited his patrol vehicle and walked towards the Taurus, the driver sped away and drove westbound towards LaPorte.
The trooper then called out a vehicle pursuit and followed the vehicle as it fled. The suspect attempted to turn onto Clay St. from SR 2 in downtown LaPorte but crashed into the corner of the Country Caterers business. This crash resulted in the vehicle being disabled.
The driver then exited the vehicle and fled on foot southbound on Clay. Trooper Raupp gave chase through the alley to Jackson St. where the driver, Bryan Fuentes, 18, of South Bend, IN, tripped and fell and was taken into custody. A passenger in the vehicle also fled from the vehicle. Trooper Raupp returned to his police car and was able to review the dash cam of the pursuit and obtained a description of the passenger that had also fled.
The LaPorte Police Department was quickly able to locate the passenger, Ricardo Ramirez, 27, from South Bend, IN, as he was attempting to blend in with a group of people attempting to load a car onto a trailer. He was positively identified as the passenger and taken into custody. While doing an inventory of the crashed vehicle, marijuana and crack cocaine were located.
Assisting at the scene were the LaPorte Police Dept., LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office, LaPorte City Fire, and the Michigan City Police Dept. Neither of the suspects were injured as a result of the crash. Both individuals were transported to the LaPorte County Jail. Mr. Fuentes is preliminarily charged with the following:
- Possession Of Cocaine- Level 6 Felony
- Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle- Level 6 Felony
- Possession of Marijuana- Class B Misdemeanor
- Driving While Suspended (Prior Conviction)- Class A Misdemeanor
- Aggressive Driving- Class A Misdemeanor
- Operator Never Licensed- Class C Misdemeanor
Mr. Ramirez is preliminarily charged with the following:
- Possession of Cocaine- Level 6 Felony
- Resisting Law Enforcement- Class A Misdemeanor
- Possession of Marijuana- Class B Misdemeanor
- Possession of Paraphernalia- Class C Misdemeanor
All persons named in this release are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. All charges mentioned are merely accusations, actual charges will be determined by the LaPorte County Prosecutor's Office.
