On September 1, 12:50 a.m., at W. 7th Avenue and Chambers, an EPD officer attempted to stop a white Dodge Intrepid for erratic driving and suspected driver impairment. The male driver had no identification and provided a false name, but the officer obtained the name of the 25-year-old female passenger, Brianna Michelle Smith of Kennewick, Washington.
The male drove off at a high rate of speed before officers could re-contact him during the stop. The pair ditched the vehicle and despite help by Lane County Sheriff’s Office K9 and Springfield K9, police were unable to locate the couple.
Fast forward to the next day, September 2. One of the officers involved in the stop did a follow-up investigation and determined Smith was wanted out of Kennewick, Washington for a Residential Burglary, where numerous firearms, and a large amount of cash and coins were taken. He obtained a flier from Kennewick Police Department and shared it with EPD Property Crimes Unit.
EPD Property Crimes detectives followed up on this case in area pawn shops. As luck would have it, Brianna Smith entered the shop while a detective was inside. The detective went outside and spotted an involved vehicle named from the Kennewick Police flier, and another involved suspect, Louis Anthony Haberling, age 29. When the couple left, detectives followed them to the Night inn at 1522 W. 6th Avenue.
Since the subjects were wanted and possibly armed, a modified SWAT response was deployed to get the into custody.
Both Haberling and Smith were taken into custody without incident. Haberling was arrested on charges of being a Fugitive from Another State. Smith was arrested on two counts of Theft in the First Degree. ###