A Chehalis man who was arrested following a case review hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday is facing additional charges after he allegedly fled the courtroom and assaulted and threatened to kill a courtroom security guard before being restrained by court staff, including a district court judge and the Lewis County prosecutor.
Chance Justin Smith, 29, had a hearing scheduled for 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 29, in Lewis County Superior Court to confirm Smith’s completion of mental health treatment that was ordered as part of his sentence in a 2021 case.
In that case, Smith was convicted on Feb. 23, 2022, on first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer charges for breaking into a Chehalis business on April 5, 2021, and then assaulting the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy and sergeant who arrested him.
As part of a plea deal, Smith was granted a mental health sentencing alternative, in which he was sentenced April 13, 2022, to 36 months on probation. As part of his sentence, he was required to undergo substance abuse and mental health evaluations and complete all recommended treatment by March 13, 2025.
Lewis County Superior Court documents indicate that Smith failed to provide the court proof that he completed that mental health treatment by his review hearing on Thursday, May 29, prompting Judge Joely Yeager to remand him into custody at the end of the hearing.
Smith reportedly became “verbally aggressive once he was remanded into custody” and resisted commands given by Lewis County Superior Court Security Officer Jamey McGinty to calm down, according to charging documents filed on Friday, May 30.
Before he could be arrested, Smith allegedly “took off running out of the courtroom to the hallway by the elevators,” according to court documents.
McGinty pursued with a Taser, and Smith allegedly “challenged (him) by telling him to shoot him” and told him “if he came close to him, he would kill him,” according to court documents.
Smith allegedly went into the elevator when the elevator door opened, at which point McGinty reportedly holstered his Taser and held the elevator door open with his hand.
Smith then allegedly “grabbed Officer McGinty’s arm and pushed him out of the elevator,” continuing to “pursue Officer McGinty out of the elevator.”
At that point, Lewis County District Court Judge R.W. Buzzard reportedly stepped in to assist McGinty in taking Smith to the ground.
While the three were struggling on the ground, Smith allegedly “grabbed at Officer McGinty’s utility belt where his firearm was located,” with Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer, who was nearby, reporting hearing McGinty “state that Mr. Smith was going for his gun,” according to court documents.
Meyer then reportedly stepped in and helped Buzzard and McGinty restrain Smith on the ground until officers with the Chehalis Police Department arrived and transported Smith to the Lewis County Jail.
Minutes from Smith’s hearing on the 2021 case note that Meyer returned to Yeager’s courtroom at approximately 11:59 a.m. to make a record that Smith had “fled the courtroom and had to be restrained while making multiple threats to law enforcement.”
Lewis County Jail records indicate Smith was booked into the jail at approximately 12:05 p.m. on Thursday.
He is being held without bail on the 2021 case and was additionally charged Friday in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of first-degree escape, second-degree assault, third-degree assault and felony harassment.
Judge J. Andrew Toynbee set Smith’s bail for the new case at $100,000, taking into account both the existing no-bail hold and the severity of the allegations.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, June 5.
