Car theft leads to arrest following attempt to escape in Yakima River

PROSSER, Wash.-- A man was arrested Saturday afternoon after trying to avoid arrest by jumping into the Yakima River.

The incident began at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday when a deputy stopped a car along I-82 for swerving between lanes.

The deputy realized that the female driver was distraught so he removed her from the car to speak with her. The deputy recognized the male passenger as Jacob Munoz, 25, from Prosser.

While talking with the female to figure out what was going on at his vehicle, Jacob jumped into the driver's seat and drove away in the woman's vehicle.

The victim told investigators that she had picked Munoz up and believed he was high on narcotics and exhibiting paranoid behavior.

At one point, she thought Munoz was going to attack her while she was driving so she pulled out a BB pistol. He wrestled the gun from her and pointed it at her. The gun was a fake, so she knew he couldn't shoot her.

It was at that point that the deputy pulled over the vehicle.

Later in the day, deputies served a search warrant at Munoz's home, and found the stolen vehicle near by. When Munoz spotted the deputies, he ran away on foot jumping into the nearby Yakima River.

After about an hour in the water, Munoz made it back to shore, but not before arming himself with rocks and a stick and threatening to throw them at deputies and a K9.

Munoz was taken into custody and booked into the Benton County Jail for domestic assault. Additional charges could be filed.