Armed and Dangerous Fugitive Sought by Oregon State Police in Chemult

Police believe the man is located somewhere in the Highway 97 and Interstate 5 corridors.

(CHEMULT, Ore.) - An armed and dangerous wanted fugitive is still on the loose as of Friday morning after he and a passenger ran from an Oregon State Police (OSP) traffic-related stop Thursday evening in Chemult in northern Klamath County.

After both men ran from their vehicle OSP troopers, with the assistance of a Klamath Falls Police Department (KFPD) dog, discovered approximately 93 pounds of marijuana in the trunk. The passenger was captured Thursday night west of Chemult and the wanted driver has not been found.

Wednesday at approximately 7:00 PM, OSP's Southern Command Center dispatch received reports of a white 1991 Pontiac Grand Am with Arizona license plates driving recklessly northbound on Highway 97 from the Klamath Falls area. Additional reports came in as the car continued northbound, including one indicating the car nearly struck a highway worker at a construction zone.

An OSP trooper spotted the car parked at the Pilot Truck Stop in Chemult and pulled over the two occupants. The trooper says the driver of the car, 37-year old Jose Ceyala of Tucson, Arizona, displayed signs of intoxication and voluntarily submitted to field sobriety tests which he failed.

Investigators say that as the trooper was taking Celaya into custody, the passenger jumped out of the car and began approaching the trooper who pushed Celaya away to begin protecting himself. Both men fled on foot east across railroad tracks and into the woods.

Additional officers from OSP, Klamath County Sheriff's Office and KFPD with drug dog "Sirus" responded to assist. During a search of the car, "Sirus" alerted on the trunk where troopers found five large bags containing compressed marijuana weighing approximately 93 pounds in total.

State, county and city officers conducted an extensive search of the area to locate both men. Included in the search was a freight train at a local depot that departed later westbound toward the Willamette Valley after officers did not locate the suspects.

About 11:00 PM, a citizen who lives near Crescent Lake junction about 28 miles west of Chemult had been listening to a scanner monitoring the events. The citizen contacted police after a man came to his home asking directions to Washington. The man, subsequently identified as passenger, 37-year old Francisco Javier Gonzales of Yakima, Washington, left the residence on foot.

Responding troopers, including two OSP SWAT memebers, and officers found the Gonzalez about three miles west of the citizen's residence along Highway 58. Gonzalez was positively identified as the car's passenger and was taken into custody without incident.

Police say Celaya is considered armed and dangerous. He is an armed career criminal wanted on an outstanding fugitive warrant held by US Marshal Service related to Intent to Distribute Marijuana. Celaya has a history of violence against police and is known to carry concealed weapons.

Celaya is described as a Hispanic male, 5'7" tall, weighing 170 to 190 pounds, clean shaven with short brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a green and gray vertical stripe polo shirt with blue jeans.

Other identifiers include a possible 4" scar on forehead, a tattoo of an eagle head on his right shoulder with the name "Yvette" underneath the eagle head.

Celaya may still be in the Chemult area attempting to get a ride by a passing motorist. He may have also jumped on the westbound train at some point because the passenger told officers they both got on the train but jumped off at different times. It is believed they were enroute to Washington State after leaving from the Los Angeles-area early Thursday.