Trial set for U.S. 2 high-speed pursuit suspect

The trial starts next month for a Monroe man who said he had wanted police to kill him following a high-speed chase down U.S. Highway 2 in mid-July.

Rene Fabian Carmona Ruiz is being charged with one count of second-degree assault (domestic violence) and one count of attempt to elude a police vehicle in Snohomish County Superior Court, according to court documents. Both are felonies in Washington.

It is suspected the 38-year-old was high on meth when he doused himself and his wife with gasoline, held a knife to her throat and fled from law enforcement July 16, according to probable cause documents. The couple has been married for 17 years and has two daughters together.

Ruiz’s wife told Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office deputies her husband had threatened to kill her earlier that Sunday. She told them he had driven her to the homes of relatives, so she could say her goodbyes. The couple also stopped at a Texaco station to buy the gasoline he used to cover them both.

Afterward, Ruiz allegedly held a lighter in his mouth as he tried to close the gas can, according to documents, and his wife said she was able to knock the lighter away and break it.

The victim called 911 around 5:30 p.m.

The couple was heading eastbound at the time. On the phone dispatchers heard a woman scream, “He’s got a knife to my throat, I am in a car, I don’t know where I am!” and a man yelling “Shut the f*** up!” according to Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Howerton’s incident report.

Monroe Police officers assisted the sheriff’s office in finding the couple, who were in a gray Ford. More 911 calls came from the public that suggested a potential robbery was occurring; Ruiz was demanding money, according to the report, and then, 10 minutes after his wife first made contact, a car was seen driving into oncoming traffic on the highway.

Scanner audio captured some of the chase. It starts out as responders searched around Gold Bar for the couple. Ruiz was then tracked down in an unincorporated community. He made his way into the eastbound lane of traffic and also drove along the centerline at times.

“They just passed me going westbound on (Highway) 2 going into Startup,” an officer was heard saying on the scanner. “They tried to take me head on.”

Ruiz was reportedly clocked at speeds close to 70 mph during the pursuit as he headed for Monroe. At points, he was forced to slow down to around 50 mph, according to the report. Tailing law enforcement tried to attempt a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) to run him off the road.

“Every time I get close to him, he swerves into the oncoming lane,” an officer was heard saying on the scanner.

After Ruiz passed through Sultan, he avoided two spike strips thrown down by police, the report states, and then hit a third placed near Old Owen Road in east Monroe. He reportedly drove over a median into oncoming traffic as the tires deflated. Another PIT was successful in stopping the car.

Ruiz allegedly still had a utility knife in his hand when officers first made contact to take him into custody. His wife had three cuts on her arm, and “reeked of gasoline,” according to the report.

Court documents state Ruiz admitted to the accusations that he had planned to kill himself and his wife, but later said he had only wanted to kill himself. He also reportedly switched part of his story that he had fled from police because he wanted to avoid jail; instead saying it was because he wanted to be killed by them.

He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for second-degree assault, harassment or threats to kill and attempt to elude a police vehicle. Ruiz had another case pending against him at the time, and he was believed to be a threat to the community if released.

Ruiz is still in custody with bail set at $500,000, according to the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. His trial date is set for Sept. 15.

Second-degree assault is considered a Class B felony, and attempt to elude is considered a Class C felony.