BONNERS FERRY — A Washington man has entered a guilty plea to two misdemeanors on charges he allegedly fled from law enforcement at high speeds in a car chase.  

Ryan Tremayne Kempf, 36, entered a guilty plea on Jan. 7 in district court to assault and eluding a peace officer, both misdemeanors.  

He was initially charged with a total of three felonies — a count of attempting to flee from an officer in a motor vehicle, one count of assault or battery and one count of allegedly being a persistent violator.  

Kempf was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the first count and 280 for the second count, both of which are suspended. He will also serve two years of supervised probation and was handed a $1,000 fine.   

According to court records, Kempf has been convicted of multiple crimes in Washington in the past, including domestic violence and assault. 

Kempf appeared on zoom from Washington for his court appearance. 

The charges stem from a Nov. 21, 2021, incident, where Boundary County Sheriff’s Deputy Alan Schleif conducted a traffic stop on a Chevy Impala that was driving left of the yellow center line. During checking the stop, the man was identified as Ryan Kempf, who was wanted on an arrest warrant out in Washington state alleging he had escaped from a state detention facility in Washington.  

According to the court records, Kempf fled from the stop, reaching speeds of up to approximately 120 miles.  

Cowell came into view of the vehicle, with his emergency lights and sirens activated. Allegedly, Kempf’s vehicle was traveling at an estimated speed of over 100 mph in the opposite direction when he drove into Cowell’s lane, forcing him onto the shoulder of the highway to avoid a head on collision.  

In court records, Cowell wrote that it seemed apparent that Kempf’s intent was to force him off the highway to avoid his capture.  

As they entered a 45-mph zone, the Impala was allegedly going around 110 mph. Throughout the pursuit, Cowell recalled that three different vehicles had to pull over the fog line and at least had to leave the road base to avoid a collision.  

Cowell contacted Boundary County Sheriff’s Cpls. Clint Randall and Mike Valenzuela and a multi-agency pursuit converged in the El Paso Street area. A perimeter was staged and now-former BCSO Sheriff Dave Kramer, who was off-duty; and Bonners Ferry mayor and former police chief Rick Alonzo arrived to help. 

Within two minutes, Kramer and Alonzo allegedly had Kempf at gunpoint, with Cowell securing him in handcuffs.