Caught! Manhunt ends for WSP shooting suspects

A manhunt ended Thursday for the two men accused of shooting at a Washington State Patrol trooper earlier this week.

The state patrol arrested Manuel J. Aviles, 18, of Mabton, and Felipe Cortes-Barajas, 39, of Grandview, in Adams County.

The WSP SWAT team took them into custody without incident, and they were taken to the Yakima County jail on Thursday.

The men made an initial appearance Friday in Yakima County Superior Court.

Aviles’ bail is set at $500,000. He is facing charges of first-degree assault and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

Cortes-Barajas is being held without bail on suspicion of assault, possession of a stolen gun, possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Other details about the arrest were not immediately released.

“The WSP wants to thank the public for providing information that was essential in capturing these two armed and dangerous men,” said a news release.

WSP investigators believe the men were in a black Honda Accord when Trooper Nate Dawson spotted it going 14 mph over the speed limit on state Route 241 on Monday evening, the state patrol said.

After a six-minute chase reaching speeds of 100 mph, the men stopped in the driveway of a private home on Forsell Road outside Grandview.

The suspects reportedly got out of the car before firing several shots at Dawson, but he managed to duck behind his patrol car, said Trooper Chris Thorson. Bullets damaged the windshield, a laptop mounted on the dash and the car’s front end.

The state patrol has not said what type of guns were used or how many shots were fired by the men or by Dawson.

After firing the barrage, they ran past the home and into a vineyard near 3830 Forsell Road, Thorson said.

A search on the ground and by helicopter failed to find them. It’s not clear how investigators tracked them to Adams County.