A Kelso man has been charged for allegedly threatening a Napavine police officer and attempting to hit two Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies with his car during a pursuit that ended after he crashed into a tree in Winlock on Sunday.
A Napavine police officer had attempted to arrest the defendant, Jacob A. Gregg, at the Chevron gas station on Rush Road after a registration check on a red truck found an active warrant out for Gregg’s arrest, according to court documents.
The officer made contact with Gregg, who reportedly told the officer “you better get away or I will kick your ass” and resisted the officer’s commands to put his hands behind his back. The officer then drew his weapon and told Gregg to get on the ground. Gregg allegedly said “f— you, I’m out of here,” got in his vehicle and drove away “at a fast pace,” according to court documents.
The Napavine officer initiated a pursuit onto southbound Interstate 5, at which point Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies took over and alerted the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office of the situation.
The pursuit continued down into Cowlitz County before the vehicle got onto northbound I-5 and drove back toward Lewis County. Gregg allegedly swerved around stop sticks deployed at milepost 57, “causing Deputy Andersen to dive into the ditch to avoid being run over by the truck,” according to court documents.
The vehicle reportedly exited I-5 via a grass shoulder, driving through a state Department of Transportation fence and onto Frost Road. Deputies again deployed stop sticks and “the truck again swerved, and headed straight towards Deputy Riordan, causing him to jump out of the way.”
The pursuit continued until the suspect’s vehicle left the road on Mickelson Parkway, “drove through a field and crashed into the trees,” according to court documents.
Gregg was nowhere to be found when officers arrived, and a K-9 track was unsuccessful in locating him.
On Tuesday, deputies received a tip that Gregg was at the Shell station off of Exit 63 in Winlock.
Deputies arrived and arrested Gregg, “who was sitting inside the station eating a corndog,” according to court documents.
When questioned by deputies after his arrest, Gregg reportedly “stated he believed the (Napavine) officer was harassing him” and allegedly “admitted to not stopping for officers because he thought he was going to be hurt.”
Gregg reportedly told deputies that “after he fled on foot, he found a large tree stump about 50 to 100 feet in front of his truck, and that he hid inside of it until the officers were gone.”
He was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 7:25 a.m. on May 4. He faces two counts of second-degree assault and one count each of harassment of a criminal justice participant performing official duties and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle.
Judge Joely A. O’Rourke granted Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead’s request to set Gregg’s bail at $200,000.
“The facts of the case alone would justify that,” said Halstead, adding that he had concerns about Gregg’s criminal history, which includes over 20 arrest warrants and convictions on stalking, witness intimidation and tampering with evidence charges.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller pointed out that none of Gregg’s prior history is out of Lewis County, and stated that Gregg disagrees with the charges.
“I know Mr. Gregg was quite frustrated when I went over the charging document with him,” said Tiller, adding, “I know it will come out if this goes to trial.”
“It’s going to trial,” said Gregg, who appeared in court via video feed from the jail for his preliminary hearing on May 5.
Gregg’s next court appearance is an arraignment hearing scheduled for Thursday, May 13.
