A 46-year-old Oak Harbor man accused of leading police on a chase last year didn’t show up for his plea and sentencing hearing on Nov. 25.
As a result, Island County Superior Court Judge Christon Skinner issued a $20,000 bench warrant for the arrest of Ronald B. Millado.
Prosecutors charged Millado in Island County Superior Court on July 17, 2024 with attempting to elude a pursing police vehicle and reckless driving. If convicted of the charges, he would face a standard sentencing range of up to 364 days in jail.
In May 2024, a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office saw an SUV speed through the intersection on Highway 20 and Ault Field Road, passing vehicles in the intersection by going partially into the oncoming lane and causing other drivers to honk, according to the deputy’s report.
The deputy performed a U-turn and chased after the vehicle, which turned onto Regatta Drive and continued to pass other cars, nearly causing a collision, the report states. The deputy caught up near the intersection with Crescent Harbor Road. Millado stuck his arm out the driver’s side window and waved his index finger in a pantomime of “oh no you don’t,” the deputy wrote.
Millado slammed on his breaks and turned onto Northeast Sixth Avenue so suddenly that the rear wheels left the roadway, the report states. He turned on Northeast Seventh Avenue, went through the Smoke Shop Parking lot, then back onto Seventh Avenue and onto the highway. After the SUV again accelerated to a high rate of speed, the deputy broke off the pursuit out of fear that Millado would go through a red light and cause a collision.
The deputy followed behind and later saw Millado leaving an apartment to get back into the car. Another deputy drove up to Millado’s car in the parking lot, but Millado accelerated at the patrol car, nearly ramming the passenger side door, according to the report. Millado sped away with his arm out the window, waving his finger.
Court documents don’t indicate what charge or charges Millado may have agreed to plead guilty to.
