She was shot near Pasco after a 3-county crime spree. Drugs were to blame

By the time Amanda Warren got into a shootout with police near Pasco, she already had tried smothering a man and stolen several guns.

During the Walla Walla woman’s crime spree and three-county chase last August, she racked up 11 felonies.

They included two counts of burglary, three counts of assault, three charges for assaulting an officer, unlawful imprisonment and attempting to run from police.

The spree landed Warren a 25-year prison sentence on Wednesday when she was sentenced in Walla Walla County Superior Court.

“Ms. Warren committed these crimes to get drugs,” Prosecutor Jim Nagle told the Herald on Wednesday. “This is another example of how a person’s drug abuse jeopardizes everyone else’s safety and victimizes other people.”

Before Wednesday, Warren had 12 previous convictions for a mix of burglary, theft, identity theft and forgery in Walla Walla and Umatilla counties.

Last Aug. 3, she tricked an 88-year-old Walla Walla man to let her into his home by saying she was there to clean. Instead, she attacked him.

Warren tried smothering him, but he fought her off. But she managed to steal some priceless items and drove off in a stolen Toyota Prius.

A couple hours later, the car was seen on the lawn of a Waitsburg home.

By the time deputies arrived to check on it, they found she had broken into a gun room of the house.

3-county chase

A Walla Walla County deputy spotted the stolen car on Highway 12 and gave chase. But when Warren reached speeds of 100 mph through Waitsburg, deputies backed off out of safety concerns.

Columbia County deputies found her a short time later on Highway 124, sparking another chase. This one went back through Walla Walla County and into Franklin County.

After causing a crash in Burbank, she headed toward Pasco and then headed back into the oncoming lanes of Highway 12. Finally, officers were able to force the car into a spin near the Snake River bridge.

Investigators say Warren brandished a gun, and WSP Troopers James Stairet and Cody Mueller and Franklin County sheriff’s Sgt. Marcus Connor opened fire, hitting her several times.

Despite being wounded, Warren, then 38, stayed in the locked car until the WSP’s SWAT team arrived and pulled her out about 4:30 p.m., according to court documents.

She stayed in the hospital for about a week before being jailed in Walla Walla County.