Car prowl at Tri-City store ends with 2 police cars hit and a woman dragged

A report of a car prowl Saturday ended with two police cars hit and a woman dragged as the apparently drunk suspect in the case tried to drive away.

Casey Mallonee, 30, of Kennewick, was booked into the Benton County jail at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on suspicion of five felonies and additional misdemeanors.

A Benton County deputy was in the area and responded to the initial call of a man breaking into a car in the parking lot of Kohl’s department store on Tapteal Boulevard, according to Richland police reports.

He found a man getting out of a car, holding some items, said police reports.

Although the deputy told the man to stop, the man got into the backseat of another car parked and told the woman driver to leave.

Instead, the woman got out and the suspect climbed over the seats and drove off, with the woman either holding onto the car or unable to free herself from it, said police.

The deputy tried to get the woman off the car and was dragged a short distance. A small child was also in the car.

The car traveled about 400 feet with the woman still on it before it came to a stop near the front of Kohl’s.

A Richland police car that had just arrived blocked the car from backing up and the deputy’s car blocked it from the front.

The suspect accelerated to hit the deputy’s car and then reversed to hit the Richland police car, according to Richland police reports. The deputy was out of one car before it was hit, but a police dog was inside it, and a Richland officer was still in the other car.

The deputy tried to arrest the suspect as he continued to rev the engine.

Eventually, Mallonee was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault against the Richland, Wash., officer, third-degree assault against the deputy and also the woman, DUI, failure to comply and attempting to elude police.

He also faces a possible charge of reckless endangerment because a small child was in the car.

The woman who was dragged was treated by paramedics and no one else or the police dog were hurt, according to Richland police.