A Lewis County Superior Court judge on Monday set bail at $100,000 for an Oregon man arrested for DUI and a slew of additional charges after blowing a .234 on a portable breath test when he was pulled over by a Washington State Patrol trooper on Interstate 5 Oct. 17.
Joey C. William, 37, of Portland, made his initial appearance before Judge Joely Yeager on Monday. Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer requested bail of $100,000, noting that in addition to the allegation that William was driving while heavily intoxicated, he also had two children in his vehicle and later threatened to stab a state trooper and headbutted a security guard at the hospital.
The most serious criminal charge he faces is intimidating a public servant, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. He’s also charged with felony harassment, a Class C felony punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and six misdemeanor charges of driving while under the influence, two counts of reckless endangerment (domestic violence), fourth-degree assault, interference with a health care facility and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
In Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, William’s defense attorney for the day, Rachael Tiller, said the arrest and subsequent allegations were “completely outside his character” and noted he is the “breadwinner of his family.” She said William, who has a CDL, is employed as a truck driver and travels between Washington and Oregon.
That information led Meyer to request that William be barred from driving any vehicle without an interlock device and that his employer be notified of the allegations against him.
“Having people over the influence in vehicles is one of the biggest community safety risks in our community, especially with young children,” Yeager said while considering bail and release conditions.
Yeager ultimately set bail at $100,000 and ruled that William could continue to drive for his employer if he is released on bail, but only if an interlock device — or something similar that also monitors the blood alcohol content of a driver — was in place.
On Oct. 17, a Washington State Patrol trooper was dispatched to an erratically driven Jeep Grand Cherokee. The trooper located the vehicle near mile marker 78 on Interstate 5 at about 8:53 p.m.
“The trooper observed the Jeep was in the right lane and swerving onto the shoulder,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office. “The Jeep then went almost fully into the left lane.”
The trooper initiated a traffic stop and identified William based on his Oregon CDL.
“Mr. William displayed poor finger dexterity and dropped his driver's license,” the affidavit states. “(The trooper) noted the strong and obvious odor of intoxicants coming from the vehicle and a case of IPAs on the front passenger floorboard. Mr. William denied drinking alcohol, but displayed bloodshot and watery eyes and slurred speech. (The trooper) identified the two other occupants of the Jeep as Mr. William's minor children.”
According to court documents, the children are 12 and 14 years old.
William allegedly performed poorly on standard field sobriety tests, with the trooper noting the smell of intoxicants coming from William.
William provided a voluntary preliminary breath sample of .234. The legal limit for blood alcohol content in Washington state is .08.
William was arrested and transported to the Lewis County Jail, where he allegedly began to scream and shout and walked out of the room as he was being processed for a DUI screening. He stated he would not take part in the test. The trooper transported him to the state patrol field office in Chehalis to apply for a search warrant, which he received.
“While doing so, Mr. William threatened physical violence against (the trooper), called him racial slurs, and stated he would not comply with the blood draw,” the affidavit states. “Once at Providence Centralia Hospital, (the trooper) received the assistance of Centralia police officers and hospital security. Mr. William's blood was successfully drawn at 2223 hours. After the blood draw, Mr. William stood up and began walking out of the hospital room while swearing and causing a scene. (The trooper) directed him to stay in the room and two hospital security guards grabbed his arms. Mr. William headbutted one of the security guards.”
The trooper then transported William to his patrol car with the assistance of a Centralia police officer and took him back to the jail for booking.
Once at the jail, William allegedly stated that if he was not handcuffed he would stab the trooper with his own pocket knife. William allegedly stood up and resisted when efforts were made to handcuff him to a bench.
The trooper “performed a takedown” and William was successfully handcuffed to the bench with the help of jail deputies.
William will next appear in court for an arraignment and trial setting hearing on Thursday.
Don Blair has been assigned as his defense attorney.
