A Tahoma man accused of raping his estranged wife at their cabin was taken off a Greyhound bus and into custody by Las Vegas Metro police Thursday, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department reported.
Jared Hale, 28, has been on the run since early July after he allegedly waited for the 23-year-old woman to return to the cabin. At gunpoint, he's accused of kidnapping her and their daughter. She was apparently unharmed, Bob Johnston indicated.
Hale led deputies from El Dorado and Placer counties on a high-speed chase that reached 95 mph and ended 30 minutes later with an abandoned vehicle.
El Dorado County investigators received a tip recently that a family member was preparing to pick the fugitive up in Las Vegas. He was believed to be in Texas at one point.
"We put two and two together and figured he'd be coming in on a bus," Johnston said.
Las Vegas Metro police officers approached Hale at a bus stop and arrested him without a struggle, Johnston said, adding he was told Hale had changed his appearance somewhat. It's unknown how.
"'You don't need to see ID, I'm the one you're looking for,'" Johnston translated Hale's words to the officers.
Johnston said the woman, who has been staying in a shelter, expressed being "quite elated he's in custody." The sergeant added she's been uneasy that he'd eluded police.
She was preparing to leave Hale on the day in question when she went to the cabin to pack up her clothes, and he was waiting for her with a pistol in his belt, Johnston said. He had been making threatening telephone calls to the cabin despite a restraining order.
El Dorado County plans to extradite Hale, who is facing felony charges of false imprisonment and rape. Hale is expected back to the Lake Tahoe Basin within a few weeks.