Suspect taken into custody following high speed pursuit

WALLACE – The Stateys are back, and they brought friends...

Idaho State Police and collaborating agencies conducted a three-day enforcement emphasis in the Silver Valley this week for the second time in less than a month. The operation, which had yielded a significant number of drug related arrests on Tuesday alone, kept on rolling Wednesday with a high speed pursuit down Interstate-90.

ISP Captain John Kempf reports that Troopers and Shoshone County Deputies were involved in the pursuit that took them through a good stretch of the Silver Valley. The suspect, identified as 38 year-old Jason Michael Cuchine of Butte, Mont, failed to yield for a traffic stop on I-90 at mile post 39 and then accelerated to a high rate of speed heading east.

The pursuit finally ended 30 miles down the road near milepost 69 after law enforcement used spike strips twice to disable his vehicle. Once he was brought to a stop, Cuchine was taken into custody without incident.

Cpt. Kempf states that during the chase, the suspect attempted to dispose of methamphetamine he had in his possession by throwing it out of his window; which was later recovered by Troopers.

Cuchine was booked into the Shoshone County jail for multiple charges including Use or Possession of a Methamphetamine (felony), Eluding an Officer (felony), Destruction of Evidence (felony), Possession of Less than Three Ounces of Marijuana (misdemeanor), and Use or Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (misdemeanor). He had his first court appearance before Judge Barbara A. Duggan on Thursday at the Shoshone County Court House in Wallace.

No injuries or damage were reported as a result of the chase.

Kempf commented that he was pleased with the effort and cooperation of everyone involved, as they brought the potentially dangerous incident to a peaceful conclusion.

The Shoshone News-Press will have a complete recap of the enforcement emphasis online and in our Wednesday, Oct. 10 print edition.