KENNEWICK — A man convicted of manslaughter, who was on the run after allegedly kidnapping his ex-girlfriend in the Tri-Cities, was caught parked in the middle of a California road.
Police had been looking for Jack Waldrop, 53, after he allegedly beat his girlfriend and took her on a harrowing ride to Ellensburg. Along the way, he threatened to kill her and then himself, show court documents.
She escaped at a gas station, but Waldrop drove off, past police and into California.
But a Mendocino County sheriff’s deputy spotted his truck parked and idling in Willits just before 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15.
The city is about 200 miles south of the Oregon border and about 140 miles north of San Francisco.
Waldrop’s truck was blocking traffic, so the deputy approached him and asked for his license, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
He refused, and sped away. Deputies chased him through town as he drove recklessly, police said. Then he drove another 10 to 12 miles north before stopping.
He got out of the truck and was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving and DUI and booked into the Mendocino County jail. Deputies also discovered the nationwide warrant issued in Benton County Superior Court for kidnapping, assault and violating a court order.
Still, it took a few more days for Kennewick police to learn of his arrest.
Prosecutor Andy Miller said it hasn’t been decided which charges he’ll face first. Normally, the agency that has the person in custody makes their decision first.
The important thing is that he is in custody, Miller told the Herald.
Kidnapping and escape
Waldrop had been in a relationship with a 63-year-old Kennewick woman, but they had broken up and she got a protection order against him, according to court records.
It’s unclear if she was aware that he had been released from an Oregon prison a few years earlier for strangling a girlfriend to death during an argument.
On March 11, despite the court order, Waldrop offered to give his ex a ride to run an errand. At one point, she overheard a conversation with someone on the phone, which prompted her to get out of the truck and head toward a bus stop, according to court records and Kennewick police.
He followed her and insisted that she get back in the truck. He promised to take her back home.
Once she was back inside, they started arguing, and it turned violent near West 36th Avenue and South Olympia Street, according to court records. He pulled her hair out, punched her in the face and started to strangle her, said court records.
He told her “she was going to die today,” according to court records.
She fought with him, at one point kicking the ignition and breaking the top of the key off. Then she fell out of the truck. Waldop allegedly stood over her, stomped her hip, yanked her hair and punched her in the back.
He ordered her back into the truck. Scared about what he would do next, she complied.
He then started driving toward Yakima. She kept asking to be let out of the truck.
“(He) continued to backhand her and tell her he was going to kill her and kill himself because he did not want to go back to prison,” according to court records.
Waldrop started heading toward Snoqualmie Pass where he had visited before. She was worried he would follow through with his threats.
When they stopped at an Ellensburg gas station, he told her to get cleaned up. She used the chance to hide in the bathroom. Waldrop tried to yell for her, but was told off by other shoppers.
An employee noticed the woman hiding and she asked for help. Police were called, and Waldrop drove away.
She was taken to a hospital where they found she had two broken ribs and a fractured sternum.
Previous manslaughter
Waldrop served 20 years in Oregon prisons after he strangled his then girlfriend Angela Walker to death in 1998, according to court records and the Oregon Department of Corrections.
At the time, one of Walker’s friends told the Statesman Journal in Salem that the couple had a tumultuous relationship that was marked with a lot of arguing.
In March 1998, he was convicted of assaulting her during a fight, but they continued to see each other. Neighbors said they could hear the clashes outside the apartment.
During one of those fights, he beat and strangled Walker, said news accounts at the time.
He was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter and released from Oregon Department of Corrections in October 2018.
