By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 17-year-old boy accused of stealing the Chehalis police chief’s patrol car, knocking down a trooper who tried to stop him and leaving two damaged vehicles in his wake as he fled onto Interstate 5 could be tried as an adult.
The un-named juvenile from Lacey was arrested yesterday afternoon, captured by a police dog after a nearly hour-long track in the tree line just north of Chehalis, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
The chief’s unmarked Chevrolet Impala had been abandoned along the freeway near milepost 81, with a damaged front tire, according to a department spokesperson.
A detention hearing was scheduled this afternoon in Lewis County Juvenile Court and a “decline hearing” will be held in the next couple of weeks, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.
Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said if a person is 17, and commits this type of crime, the court has the discretion to move the case to adult court.
The suspect’s name was not released by police because he is a juvenile.
According to Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey, the string of events began with troopers attempting to make a traffic stop of a vehicle speeding on Interstate 5.
Law enforcement caught up with the car in the parking lot of Riverside Golf Course, on the 1000 block of Airport Road in Chehalis, but it’s driver fled, according to Bailey.
The passenger, a 15-year-old girl, was taken into custody and booked for a probation violation, according to Bailey.
As officers searched for the driver, the suspect driver got into the unmarked police car, Bailey said.
As officers approached the car, the suspect put it in reverse, striking a trooper with the open door, Bailey said.
“From what I understand, the trooper was knocked down, knocked down to the ground,” Baileys said.
The trooper was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Then the suspect sped away, headed over the Chamber Way overpass to enter northbound I-5, and struck two civilian vehicles along the way.
Bailey said an occupant of one of those vehicles complained of back pain and went to the hospital as well.
Chehalis Officer Warren Ayers and his partner Reign were summoned shortly before 1 p.m. and eventually found the suspect, according to police. The suspect was taken to the hospital for a dog bite, before booking at the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center.
Bailey said Chehalis police were looking at charges of first-degree assault and eluding as well as hit and run, but other agencies could have other offenses to add.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Funny Bobby in Lc you say we have all seen the video of other jurisdictions acting out. We don’t have video equipment in the cars nor do we have body cameras here. So you will never see anything on video here. Duh.
Excellent police work, I’d say. Now it’s up to the courts to send a message and not wuss out.
Good job by local officers in showing restraint. We have all seen video of officers in other jurisdictions shooting at a suspect driving towards officers never mind actually knocking one down with a moving vehicle.