NELSON LAMPE / The Associated Press | Posted: Saturday, May 19, 2007 7:00 pm
OMAHA — Two young Nebraskans sought after a double slaying in North Platte could face charges stemming from a 67-mile chase by Wyoming state troopers that ended with arrests at gunpoint.
Alisha Ochoa, 15, and Michael Grandon, 18, are suspects in the theft of a car that belonged to Lori Solie, Ochoa’s mother, authorities said.
Solie and her 5-year-old daughter, Tiara — Ochoa’s half sister — were found slain in their North Platte apartment Thursday night. They had been stabbed several times.
Chief Martin Gutschenritter of North Platte would not confirm Saturday whether Ochoa and Grandon also were suspects in the slayings. But he did say: “We’re heading west — does that answer it for you?”
Two of his investigators were interviewing Ochoa and Grandon in Wyoming, but Gutschenritter said it was premature to say whether those interviews would lead to more charges.
“We’re holding them as of this morning as suspects in the auto theft” of Solie’s car, Gutschenritter said. “We obviously have a whole lot of questions that we’re going to be talking about.”
Their return depends on whether they fight extradition from Wyoming, he said.
Sgt. Stephen Townsend of the Wyoming State Patrol said Saturday the pair were sitting in Sweetwater County Jail in Green River. They could face several charges — speeding, dangerous driving, flight to avoid arrest — in connection with a chase that began Friday morning on Interstate 80 west of Rawlins, Wyo. — nearly 400 miles from North Platte.
North Platte police had alerted law enforcement in surrounding states that the occupants in Solie’s Mustang were wanted for questioning about its theft and the slayings.
After a chase down the interstate at speeds hitting 115 mph, Grandon attempted to swerve around tire puncture sticks that had been placed on the pavement by another state trooper.
Grandon lost control of the Mustang and hit the back of the trooper’s empty patrol car.
Ochoa and Grandon were arrested at gunpoint, taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, then to jail. They were unarmed, but Townsend would not say whether any weapons were found in the car.
Decisions on any charges for the chase would come from prosecutors in Carbon County, where the chase began, and Sweetwater County, where it ended. Attempts to reach both counties’ attorneys were unsuccessful on Saturday.
Chief Gutschenritter said he didn’t know much about Solie or her family, other than her daughters had different fathers. Young Tiara had attended school at Hershey, which is a small town west of North Platte, he said.
The grisly scene and circumstances of the crime have rocked his department, the chief said, and he planned a stress debriefing for his officers.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 47 years and I’ve been in some pretty gory scenes,” Gutschenritter said. “It always tugs at your heartstrings when a child is involved.
“These officers have families, and many of them have small daughters, so you can imagine the stress it puts on them.”
Associated Press Writer Oskar Garcia contributed to this report.