Wrong way driver faces motor vehicle tampering, kidnapping charges in Harrison County.
HARRISON COUNTY, Mo. (KQTV) -- An Olathe, Kansas, man was arrested after allegedly driving the wrong way and attempting to steal a vehicle while it was occupied.
At approximately 8:37 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H Headquarters received a report of a wrong-way driver on Interstate 35 in Harrison County, Missouri.
An MSHP Trooper located the suspected vehicle, a silver minivan, on the exit ramp of I-35 near the 92-mile marker. The vehicle was abandoned and unoccupied.
While on scene, the trooper learned several citizens were attempting to restrain a male subject in a nearby gas station parking lot. The trooper responded to the gas station and the subject was taken into custody.
The subject was identified as Edgar Y. Martinez-Ramirez, 32, of Olathe, Kansas. MSHP said it was later determined that Martinez-Ramirez was the suspected wrong-way driver.
A preliminary investigation revealed that, following the abandonment of his vehicle, Martinez Ramirez illegally entered an occupied vehicle at a nearby gas station while the owner was refueling.
A one-year-old child was in the vehicle that Martinez-Ramirez attempted to take to try to flee the area. The owner entered the vehicle, and a struggle ensued.
Martinez-Ramirez attempted to drive away, striking another vehicle in the parking lot. The owner managed to place the vehicle in park, and nearby citizens assisted in removing Martinez-Ramirez from the driver's seat. He was later transported to Harrison County Jail.
On June 20, the Harrison County Prosecuting Attorney formally charged Martinez-Ramirez with Attempted Child Kidnapping and Tampering with a Motor Vehicle in the first degree. He is being held in the Harrison County Jail without bond.
In a news release, MSHP thanked the citizens and the Harrison County Sheriff's Office for their assistance in the apprehension/arrest of Martinez-Ramirez.
Martinez-Ramirez is scheduled for his initial court appearance at 9 a.m. with Honorable Judge J. Jay Hemenway in the Harrison County Circuit Court.
