WALLA WALLA — A Kennewick, Washington, man accused of stealing property from the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute (TCI) and a fire truck from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, sparking a two-state police chase, faces state and federal charges after his arrest. 

After reaching a plea agreement, Israel Rivera Delgado, 34, pleaded guilty on  Feb. 5 in Walla Walla County Superior Court to state charges related to the Dec. 6 pursuit. He will serve four months in state custody and faces federal charges for crimes committed on the reservation.

According to the Umatilla Tribal Police Department (UTPD), Delgado broke into the TCI, stole items and later took a BIA fire response truck, prompting a chase from Oregon into Washington.

UTPD Lead Criminal Investigator Tony Barnett said authorities have a federal warrant for Delagdo’s arrest after he was indicted on two federal charges: theft from an Indian tribal organization and theft of government property. The first charge involves the TCI case, and the second involves the BIA vehicle he stole.

Two nights of crime 

According to the UTPD, the break-in occurred in the early hours of Dec. 5, when Delgado entered the TCI. Officers arrived around 4:30 a.m. and found the main entrance’s glass door smashed, but a search of the building and nearby grounds found no one.

After reviewing multiple surveillance videos, officers identified Delgado as the suspect.

“The burglary occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. when the suspect gained entry by breaking the glass of the front west-facing main entry door,” UTPD Chief Timothy Addleman said. “The suspect spent a considerable amount of time in TCI.”

Bobbie Conner, director of the TCI, said she reviewed video footage showing Delgado entering the vault wing through a back door. Conner, who was in Hawaii at the time, called the experience shocking but emphasized that the institute’s historical collections were untouched.

Conner said Delgado gained access to three offices where doors were unlocked or malfunctioning, taking personal and office items, including laptops, a computer backpack, thumb drives, stickers, an Oregon Community Foundation travel backpack, a Pendleton shirt, a hat, a blanket and flint-napping tools used for educational demonstrations. 

According to Connor, Delgado also briefly entered a hallway leading to the regalia storage, but did not take any historical artifacts. Surveillance footage showed him wandering the building, sometimes using a blanket to carry items and attempting to take a walker belonging to an employee.

Some of the items were recovered along Mission Road near Confederated Way. Most items were recovered and returned. Connor noted that only a computer and possibly a mouse remain as evidence.

But Delgado did not stop there, police said. 

The next night, Dec. 6, at about 2:30 a.m., a Bureau of Indian Affairs employee reported a white 2018 Chevrolet 2500 stolen from the station. Delgado broke into the station, took the keys and drove the truck through the gate, causing about $3,000 in damages and stealing a vehicle valued at $90,000, Barnett said.

Later that night, UTPD learned authorities had recovered the BIA truck after officers arrested Delgado in Washington state. The College Place Police Department (CPPD) reported that the Milton-Freewater Police Department notified CPPD that Delgado was crossing the truck into Washington toward Walla Walla.

Deputies with the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office ended the pursuit by deploying spike strips near the roundabout at South Ninth Ave. and Washington State Route 125. The truck stopped and Delgado fled on foot, CPPD reported.

Officers found Delgado hiding in bushes near the Pepsi Bottling Group building at 1200 Dalles Military Road. Police arrested Delgado later that morning, bringing the chase to an end. 

At 4:29 a.m., Delgado was booked into the Walla Walla County Corrections Department on suspicion of attempting to elude, failure to comply with police, possession of a stolen vehicle, reckless driving and driving with a suspended or revoked license. His bail was set at $20,000.

Delgado, who has prior arrests, was identified as the TCI suspect and several stolen TCI items were recovered from the stolen BIA truck, according to the UTPD. He pleaded guilty to the BIA charges. 

Barnett said the department has an active warrant for Delgado’s arrest. When authorities release him from jail, the U.S. Marshals Service will transport him to federal court in the Tri-Cities.

To avoid extradition issues, officials plan to arraign Delgado in the Tri-Cities on federal charges filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Washington. The case will ultimately proceed to trial in Portland.