Police chase across the Tri-Cities ends with capture of suspect in unsolved 2023 murder
A 25-year-old murder suspect allegedly led police on a chase across the Tri-Cities before being finally caught in Richland.
Police had been looking for Katelynn Vinson in connection with the August 2023 killing of Daniel Bueno as well as threatening to kill another person on Wednesday night, according to a Kennewick police news release.
Police officers spotted her with Joe Gonzalez, 39, in a car near the 400 block of South Conway Street in Kennewick about 1 p.m. Thursday. Gonzalez, who was behind the wheel at the time, sped away from officers.
Police chased the car into Pasco, where Gonzalez ran from the car. Vinson allegedly started driving.
The car was stopped at the intersection of Lee Boulevard and Cottonwood Drive in Richland about 25 minutes after the chase started. Vinson was arrested and is being booked into the Benton County jail.
Bueno’s case was one of five unsolved homicides in Benton County in 2023.
Investigators didn’t provide any new details about why Vinson targeted the 36-year-old father of two in his car on South Conway Street
Neighbors reported hearing a gunshot about 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, on the 2600 block of West Sixth Avenue near the intersection with South Conway Street.
It was initially reported to emergency crews that a man was shot in the arm. It’s unclear if that was the case but investigators determined that the man, later identified as Bueno, was inside a car when he was shot, Commander Aaron Clem told the Herald at the time.
He was taken to an area hospital but later died.
Detectives served a search warrant on the next day in connection with the shooting on the 2200 block of West Fourth Avenue with help from the Tri-City Regional SWAT team. It’s not clear how the home was connected to the investigation.
While he wasn’t able to say what the connection was between Vinson and Bueno, Vinson is well known to police, Commander Isaac Merkl told the Herald.
She has been tied to a number of crimes across the Tri-Cities, including allegedly shooting at her ex-boyfriend in 2016 and eluding police in 2019.
This story was originally published February 29, 2024 at 5:15 PM.