After 2022 police chase careens onto downtown airport runway, Olathe man pleads guilty

An Olathe man, who authorities say led police on a high-speed chase down a runway at the Wheeler Downtown Airport last year, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to disrupting airport operations, according to the Department of Justice.

Efren Torres-Rodriguez, 35, pleaded guilty to disrupting an international airport, illegal possession of a firearm as a felon and an unlawful use of a controlled substance.

Kansas City police responded to calls of a suspicious Dodge Charger near an airport gate on Feb. 1, 2022. At the scene, officers said they found Torres-Rodriguez passed out in the driver’s seat of the running car. They turned off the car and opened the door, waking Torres-Rodriguez.

But police said Torres-Rodriguez refused to leave the vehicle and drove away, crashing through the gate to the airfield. Officers pursued Torres-Rodriguez as he drove as fast as 100 miles per hour down a runway before driving onto a tarmac on the west side of the airfield. The Dodge Charger became inoperable when they say Torres-Rodriguez tried to cross over the airstrip into a grassy area.

Officers said that’s when they removed Torres-Rodriguez from the vehicle and arrested him.

They reportedly found a bag in his pocket containing 4.6 grams of methamphetamine. Inside the car, officers also said they found a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, several rounds of ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

Torres-Rodriguez has previous felony convictions for felony possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with a prior violent offense and robbery.

Officials said airport activities were significantly disrupted because of Torres-Rodriguez’s actions. Operations were closed and planes weren’t allowed to land or take off for 40 minutes. Two aircrafts had delayed departures, one delayed arrival and remained in the air an additional 50 minutes, another canceled its flight and another didn’t depart.

Officials said Torres-Rodriguez destroyed the gate and damaged the airport fence designed to keep trespassers and animals away from the runway. His actions, officials said, also endangered the safety of anyone at the airport.

He could face up to 30 years in federal prison without parole.