Through tenacity and teamwork, law enforcement officials brought one fugitive’s run to a close early this morning.
Adam Hermanns, 23, last known to live in Waitsburg, was arrested at about 3 a.m. through a combined effort from the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office, College Place and Walla Walla police departments.
The manhunt began at about 9 p.m. Monday when a call from a resident tipped police to possible whereabouts of Hermanns, who was wanted on a warrant for investigation of home burglaries in the Waitsburg area, said Walla Walla County Undersheriff Edward Freyer.
Callers also indicated another fugitive from justice, Vernon Ray Johnson, 30, no known address, might be keeping company with Hermanns, Freyer added.
Johnson is suspected of leading officers on a high speed chase on March 24 that ended in Milton-Freewater. The pursuit went from the Walla Walla area down Old Milton Highway, with speeds up to 80 mph, officials said.
Officers were directed by the caller to go to homes on Palouse and Willard streets, where they failed to locate the men. Speaking with people at those houses led law enforcement to other addresses in Walla Walla and College Place, Freyer noted.
Walla Walla officers joined up with the College Place Police Department and went to an apartment complex in that city. Again, the men were not there, he said. “”But officers continued to make contact with other folks in the vicinity. We believe that initiated another anonymous phone call with a third location.
Police went to an address on West Whitman Drive and made contact with the resident, who gave them permission to search the premises.
Hermanns had been staying at the house, the man told police. Officers found the Waitsburg man hiding behind a bedroom door and arrested him without incident.
Hermanns was lodged in Walla Walla County Jail.
Johnson was not found and remains at large on a failure-to-appear warrant.
The two men are “”persons of interest”” in two recent home invasions in College Place, Freyer said.
He offered kudos to the officers from all three agencies this morning, calling the joint effort an example of “”working well together and taking the extra steps to keep developing information.””