Wenatchee man arrested after woman critically injured in East Wenatchee assault

EAST WENATCHEE — A Wenatchee man was arrested early Tuesday after a woman was critically injured during a domestic violence assault at a residence in East Wenatchee.

Douglas County deputies were dispatched around 2:08 a.m. March 3 to the 4000 block of 40th Circle NE after a caller reported that a woman had been shot in the neck and that the suspect, identified as her boyfriend, had fled the scene in her Toyota 4Runner.

While responding to the call, deputies spotted a vehicle matching the description traveling southbound on the Eastmont Extension at a high rate of speed. A deputy attempted to catch up but lost sight of the vehicle near the intersection of Badger Mountain Road and Eastmont Extension.

When deputies arrived at the residence, RiverCom’s emergency dispatchers reported an automatic crash alert in the Ski View Drive area, near where the vehicle had last been seen. Dispatchers also received a report of a burglary in progress involving a man attempting to enter a nearby home.

Deputies later confirmed the female victim had suffered stab wounds rather than gunshot wounds and was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Multiple law enforcement units responded to the Ski View Drive area and located the crashed Toyota 4Runner, which had been reported stolen from the victim.

Authorities established a containment area. Wenatchee Valley Fire personnel staging nearby reported seeing a man matching the suspect’s description cross a street and enter a ravine north of 19th Street NE.

Deputies located the suspect, identified as Mitchell Figueroa-Ibarra, 32, of Wenatchee, and took him into custody without incident.

Figueroa-Ibarra was arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault (DV), first-degree robbery (DV) and theft of a motor vehicle (DV). The domestic violence (DV) designation attached to each charge is added to trigger mandatory no-contact orders and potentially enhance sentencing guidelines, including increased fines or even mandatory jail time.

He was transported to a local hospital for medical clearance because of injuries related to the earlier crash and was later booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center.

Detectives say additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.

Multiple agencies assisted in the response, including the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, East Wenatchee Police Department, Wenatchee Police Department, the Columbia River Drug Task Force, Washington State Patrol’s Crime Scene Response Team, RiverCom dispatch, Wenatchee Valley Fire and regional ambulance services.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media