Woman pleads guilty to eluding police, shoplifting

Mar. 25—A Spokane woman pleaded guilty Friday after being accused of eluding police and stealing material worth more than $1,000 from the Pullman Walmart.

Tamia Kimball, 55, pleaded guilty to felony eluding and possession of stolen property in Whitman County Superior Court. She was sentenced to two months in Whitman County Jail. Kimball was also fined $800 and ordered to pay $300 in restitution to Walmart.

Kimball and 41-year-old Corey Ness were taken into custody after the two were seen stealing hundreds of dollars worth of items from Walmart. They were apprehended after their car ran out of gas after two discontinued car chases.

The case began when deputies from the Whitman County Sheriff's Office responded to a theft in progress Feb. 20 at Walmart. Kimball and Ness were seen fleeing with more than $1,000 in merchandise, according to past reporting.

Ness and Kimball were seen leaving Walmart with carts full of items, while store security followed them, Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said in court. Kimball got into her car and began to drive away when Ness ran to the vehicle and flagged down Kimball, who was behind the wheel. Ness put as many stolen items as he could into the vehicle, and the two were seen hastily exiting store grounds.

The Pullman Police Department located the vehicle in Pullman and attempted to stop the car, but Kimball and Ness did not yield, according to past reporting. Kimball and Ness were driving so erratically that Pullman police had to call off the pursuit, said Tracy. The two were seen headed northbound on Washington State Route 195.

The Whitman County Sheriff's Office found Kimball and Ness in Colfax, driving northbound. Deputies tried to stop the vehicle, but the two were driving dangerously and they had to call off the chase. Kimball was watched driving over 80 miles per hour in a posted 25-mph speed zone near Colfax schools, main streets and residential areas, said Tracy. Ness and Kimball were later observed driving northbound on Washington State Route 195 out of Colfax.

Deputies and state troopers checked the highway and found a vehicle matching the description parked and unocupied on Washington State Route 271 between Rosalia and Oakesdale, according to past reporting. Officers found the vehicle stopped and abandoned because it had run out of gas. Ness was later found hitchhiking east of the vehicle on the highway, and Kimball was located trying to flag down a patrol vehicle on the same road.

Ness pleaded guilty to second-degree retail theft in Whitman County Superior Court last Friday. He was sentenced to six months in jail, fined $500 and ordered to pay $300 in restitution to Walmart.

Kimball said she was grateful for the courts, as they kicked off her steps in recovering from addiction, saying it "saved her life." She plans on attending addiction and grief counseling once she serves her sentence.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com