By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The 22-year-old Adna man who fled an attempted misdemeanor warrant arrest in Centralia yesterday – and was shot at – was found hiding at a friend’s home in Chehalis this morning.
Deputies got a tip this morning that Phillip A. Pinotti could be found at a residence on the 1600 block of Bishop Road and just before 9 a.m. they arrested him without incident, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Pinotti was not not struck or injured from the shooting, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. But he did have injuries to his face from when the glass in his vehicle’s window broke, Brown said.
Centralia Police Department Chief Bob Berg said yesterday his court security officer fired one round at Pinotti’s car when Pinotti reportedly drove toward him, after a foot chase of about one block west from Centralia City Hall.
Pinotti had come there for court for arraignment on a DUI and learned he had a warrant from Chehalis Municipal Court because he failed to appear in court after a third-degree theft arrest. He slipped away as court security Officer Steve Howard was handcuffing him, according to police.
Law enforcement officers searching for Pinotti found his vehicle yesterday hidden in the garage at his home on Clinton Road in Adna. Two individuals contacted there were arrested for rendering criminal assistance. This morning, deputies arrested the young woman who let him stay at the home on Bishop Road for the same offense.
Jaelynn N. Pluard, 22, knew law enforcement was actively searching for Pinotti, but hid him anyway, according to Brown.
Brown said Pluard is from Centralia and was staying at Bishop Road; Brown didn’t know who that residence belonged to.
According to Brown, Pinotti had help yesterday from 18-year-old Miguel V. Martinez and 22-year-old Kayla Burleson. They both admitted they helped Pinotti take his vehicle from the area and drive it back to Adna, Brown said.
The two, who are from Centralia, initially told police yesterday they knew nothing, according to Brown, but eventually it was determined they had witnessed him flee court.
The sheriff’s office says Pinotti will be booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree escape and for first-degree assault, for attempting to run over the court officer while fleeing.
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For background, read: “Shot fired by officer, misdemeanor defendant flees court to avoid jail” from Tuesday December 16, 2014, here
@bahlsdeep “Are they supposed to call a time out, move the dirt bag to a gravel pit and then commence fire? Genius….”
“NO… they are to withhold fire….genius.
WHY would a cop shoot and put citizens in danger … in THIS case? Over an escape? Over a REALLY NOT CLEAR attempt to “run over” the court official? (Has anyone found out if the court cop actually stepped in front of the car?).
How was this use of deadly force JUSTIFIED? Do you really not get what the protests COUNTRY WIDE are about? Deadly use of force. Police brutality. OVERSTEPPING THEIR AUTHORITY.
I don’t give a flying rats rear if there is a fine print version of the law that “allows” the cop to fire…. was it “reasonable”? was it “necessary”? was there any attempt to de-escalate the situation? Did the police in any way “ESCALATE” the situation?
I don’t like making generalizations because of COURSE there are good cops. But what the hell type of psych tests are accepting those onto the force who have a NEED to prove themselves (take a look at the video in the “I can’t breathe” situation – that little man HANGING from the neck of the perpetrator was a PRIME example).
It used to be that those with a desire to help were drawn to the law enforcement agencies. I still see a few of those, but FAR more young bucks with an axe to grind and issues with power. Again – check out the CDP cop who tazered citizens for fun as a great example of someone who passed all the current methods to vet the applicants… and is still ON THE FORCE!
It is on US the citizens to change this by making noise when we see actions that are NOT in the range of what we expect from our paid enforcers of the laws. WE hire them to provide a service. WE don’t “owe” them special treatment. WE should get to decide how we want that enforcement to work. WE get to determine boundaries.
Theft was his original charge. The one he was in court for.
Good Grief……
I’m glad to hear you are the new firearms expert in Washington. Please go to the Centralia Police Department, Sheriffs Office and Chehalis PD to train them on your theories.
Bullets have been known to ricocher off the human head and as far as location, law enforcement cannot dictate that. Are they supposed to call a time out, move the dirt bag to a gravel pit and then commence fire? Genius….
PS… I thought it was important to NOT shoot at perpetrators when the shot or a ricochet could put innocent members of the public in danger. No one has mentioned that the shot was fired on a city street. Toward the Chronicle? Toward the hotel? Toward the bank? In any direction it would likely have put citizens in danger. Doesn’t seem professional.
Life’s tough.
Its much tougher when you do Stupid Stuff!
And BobBobBob…..what exact field are you an expert in, and since you are so much wiser, and apparently an insider to information, perhaps you could answer the valid questions asked in the previous comment.
Well Pinotti wasn’t smart to try to escape arrest. He most likely would have done a couple of weeks in jail at the most.
But the Court security officer was way over the top. He should have stopped pursuing at the front door of the courthouse. I doubt that his jurisdiction is beyond that.
And definitely he should not have fired his weapon at a guy eluding misdemeanor arrest. I don’t believe that he drove at the security guy – was probably just trying to get out of his parking spot.
And it was stupid of all of these young people to help keep him from the police. He should have called them and met with them to face the music. These charges aren’t that severe.
The reason that the cops are throwing all of these charges at him is they know that the Security officer acted illegally and they probably just want everything to go away quietly in a few weeks.
It’s strange how yesterday his charges were 1st degree assault and 1st degree escape. now this article states 1st degree assault and 3rd degree escape. But on the jail roster it states he’s booked for 1st degree assault and 3rd degree THEFT. So that makes me question if he was being detained or if he walked out and they chased after him.
should read: this one did not sound that dangerous
I have questions as well. Deadly force should be reserved for truly dangerous situations. From what *I’ve* read, this one did not sound that deadly. I also want to know if the driver truly was trying to assault the officer with the car, or if the officer did something like step in front of the car. Big difference, in my mind.
Our police has EXTRAORDINARY power and should be held to the highest of standards.
The CPD already had one cop out there tazing people for fun… over and over, in what I believe was intentional torture. He should not only have lost his job, but should have been arrested and charged with a crime. Instead, his union got him rehired.
It is situations like that, and the person a few months ago shot EIGHT TIMES by a police officer for walking in an alley at night and not stopping when yelled at. MY fourth amendment rights say I do NOT have to stop without cause. Walking in an alley at night is NOT cause. This is NOT Nazi Germany. But it will be if we do not keep the checks and balances in place.
We need a police force, but it also needs us to keep it in check. Bob’s questions are legitimate. I fear more the citizen who blindly follows like sheep to slaughter without questioning the authority.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgtQj8O92eI
Bob must have dropped out of law school when he started flipping burgers. He can question everything he wants to question while he flips his burgers. I question your competence Bob. Just because you enrolled in law school doesn’t mean you know anything about the law. Just keep wondering…DUH
My question is was Pinotti driving towards the Officer or was he directly aiming the vehicle at the officer? This is municipal court, I question the officers response and also question The CPD’s competence. How does one escape from Downtown when the Police Station is in the same building as the courthouse? Also they had to have a complete vehicle description based upon the officer stating Pinotti was driving towards him. Lots of questions & Probably not gonna get any answers.