A fugitive from California was one of three people caught during a manhunt in Northwest Kansas.
According to the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office, they were called Saturday morning to assist the Kansas Highway Patrol on Highway 383 near West 1300 Road.
A Trooper had stopped an out of state vehicle for speeding and discovered a large quantity of marijuana in the vehicle. While taking one of the subjects into custody, the subject resisted arrest and fled into an adjacent corn field. The other two subjects were taken into custody without incident.
Troopers from all over northwest Kansas responded including aircraft. Phillips County Deputies, K9 Fritz, and their drone deployed searching for the suspect who fled.
The suspect was located at approximately 10:50 a.m. in a creek near West 1300 and Granite Road and was taken into custody without incident.
All three suspects were transported to the Phillips County Jail with pending charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and no drug tax stamp. The suspect who fled faces additional charges of interference of a law enforcement officer and battery of a law enforcement officer.
One of the suspects was determined to be a wanted fugitive from California. 37-year-old Jesus Llanna-Rodriguez has an outstanding warrant for drug trafficking. He’s being held on local charges and the California warrant which has a $1,000,000 bond pending extradition to California.