A 106 mph chase. A trooper’s vehicle hit. Now this Pasco attempted murder suspect is behind bars

A Pasco man wanted for shooting his ex’s new boyfriend is in the Spokane County jail after reportedly leading state troopers on a high-speed chase for at least 40 miles.

Jaime Balderas, 26, is believed to have been intoxicated Wednesday evening when he drove at speeds of up to 106 mph, according to the Washington State Patrol and The Spokesman-Review.

The chase went from Interstate 90 in the Spokane Valley to Highway 2.

He hit a trooper’s car at one point in Reardan, and continued driving his 2018 Ford F150 for nearly 30 miles before another patrol car forced Balderas to lose control, the state patrol said.

The trooper was not injured.

Balderas was arrested on two counts of reckless endangerment and one count each of driving under the influence, attempting to elude police and operating a vehicle with a suspended license.

Bond was set Thursday at $50,000 by a Spokane County Superior Court judge.

Wanted for attempted murder

Balderas also is locked up on the $500,000 warrant issued Feb. 12 in Franklin County Superior Court for attempted second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful gun possession.

He likely will be transferred to Pasco in the near future to appear on that case.

Prosecutors allege Balderas shot Victor H. Maldonado-Iniquez three times on Jan. 11.

At least one bullet pierced the victim’s lung but he survived.

Balderas had stopped by a West Yakima Street apartment in Pasco to visit his kids, then later pulled out a gun and shot Maldonado-Iniquez after being asked a question in Spanish, according to court documents.

Balderas is a convicted felon who is not allowed to own or possess a gun. He was identified as the alleged shooter by Maldonado-Iniquez as the victim was being loaded into the ambulance, documents said.

Shot three times outside home

Maldonado-Iniquez told police he had stepped outside the apartment so his girlfriend, Emily Sanchez, and her ex, Balderas, could talk in private.

The victim said he opened the door to check on them as their voices got louder. That’s when Balderas allegedly shot him three times before running away.

Then on Wednesday at 7:51 p.m. — 2 1/2 months after the shooting — a state patrol trooper noticed the Ford F150 speeding on Interstate 90 near the exit for Highway 902. The pickup was traveling east.

The trooper was in a marked patrol car, but Balderas ignored the trooper’s attempts to stop him and took off, the state patrol reported.

During the pursuit, the pickup hit a 2012 Chevrolet Caprice driven by Trooper Joe Leibrecht.

Chase lasted an hour

The truck’s tires had blown out and was riding on its rims when troopers did a tactical maneuver with their cars that forced the truck to roll, The Spokesman-Review reported.

The chase, which lasted about an hour, ended six miles east of Creston.

Balderas had two passengers: Ivan Valdez, 26, and Michael Figueroa, 44, both of Pasco. It is not known if any of them were wearing seatbelts at the time.

Balderas and Figueroa were taken to Lincoln Hospital in Davenport but were not seriously injured. The two passengers were not arrested.