A man accused of fleeing from Chehalis police and driving recklessly while possibly under the influence of fentanyl in April was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on Wednesday.
Nathan Laverdure, 22, of Deer Park, was charged July 2 with one count each of first-degree negligent driving and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle after he allegedly fled from an encounter with a Chehalis Police Department officer on April 30, according to charging documents.
An officer had contacted Laverdure after finding him passed out in the driver’s seat of a Volkswagen Jetta in a parking lot of a business in the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue.
The officer reportedly “observed tin foil with burn residue near the center console, which he recognized as consistent with smoking fentanyl pills,” according to court documents.
When the officer knocked on the car window, Laverdue allegedly woke up, grabbed the tin foil and tried to hide it.
The officer noted Laverdue’s “eyes were droopy and bloodshot, and that his speech was slow and stirred,” which the officer noted “were indicative of intoxication.”
When the officer told Laverdure to exit the vehicle, Laverdure allegedly “put his vehicle into gear and proceeded to reverse towards (the officer’s) patrol vehicle” and then “accelerated forward, going over the curb in the parking lot.”
Laverdure then allegedly proceeded southbound on Southwest Interstate Avenue “at a rapid speed, crossing over to the opposite lane of travel several times and swerving past other vehicles,” according to court documents. He reportedly lost control of the Jetta on the west side of Bishop Road while driving towards Labree Road and crashed into an embankment, but recovered, got back on the road and “narrowly missed other vehicles on the road.”
Laverdure allegedly proceeded onto the southbound off-ramp of Interstate 5 Exit 74 and drove against traffic on I-5. The officer “discontinued the pursuit due to public safety risks,” according to court documents.
A Lewis County Superior Court judge issued a $25,000 warrant for Laverdure’s arrest on July 2, according to court documents. Laverdure was arrested on that warrant and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 10 a.m. on July 10, according to jail records.
His bail is reportedly set at $100,000 for an unrelated case out of Stevens County Superior Court.
Arraignment on the Lewis County case is scheduled for Thursday, July 18.
