Bail has been set at a total of $500,000 for Damien J. Madison, 24, of Chehalis, who is accused of crashing into a power pole in Centralia on Saturday then fleeing into the Skookumchuck River in an attempt to escape arrest on multiple outstanding warrants from other Lewis County cases.
“This has been quite a run for Mr. Madison,” said deputy prosecuting attorney Will Halstead of the string of allegations Madison has accumulated since the court first issued a warrant for his arrest on March 10.
That warrant dealt with an attempted armed robbery that occurred a few days prior, on March 1.
Madison, 24, of Chehalis, is accused of approaching a couple outside a motel on Belmont Avenue and pointing a large pistol at their faces while attempting to rob them. A physical fight for the gun ensued, during which Madison allegedly struck a woman on the back of the head and helped kick and punch a man who was on the ground.
Madison was charged with one count each of second-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from that incident.
A Lewis County Superior Court judge issued a $100,000 warrant for Madison’s arrest that same day.
Madison’s alleged co-defendant in that case, Brandon Lee Caley, 24, of Rochester, was charged and arrested on March 9. Caley was not in custody at the Lewis County Jail as of Monday afternoon.
An officer with the Napavine Police Department reportedly saw Madison driving a white van at approximately 1 a.m. on June 25. The officer reportedly tried to pull the van over after the officer observed the vehicle failing to use turn signals or stop at stop signs, but when the officer activated his lights, the van “initially slowed down as if it was going to pull over but then quickly accelerated away,” traveling 85 to 90 mph on northbound Interstate 5. That officer ended his pursuit, but an officer with the Centralia Police Department soon found the same vehicle speeding in downtown Centralia and began to pursue. The van got up to speeds of 100 mph in residential and downtown business areas before the officer ended the pursuit, according to court documents.
Madison was charged with two counts of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle in August.
At approximately 7:15 a.m. on Aug. 19, officers with the Centralia Police Department were dispatched to a reported crash in the 400 block of Downing Road. A Honda Civic had reportedly struck a power pole and sustained severe damage. When the officer arrived, the officer saw the car and the pole and reported “it was obvious the vehicle struck the power pole,” but there were no visible occupants in the vehicle.
The officers soon found two people, a man and a woman, on a nearby bridge. When they saw the officers approach, the man — who was later identified as Madison — reportedly “jumped over a guardrail and ran.”
The Centralia Police Department dispatched K9 Pax, who found Madison running down the river and detained him, according to court documents.
When questioned by the officers, Madison reportedly said he recently took fentanyl. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, where he reportedly had slurred speech, “kept falling asleep and could not answer the questions posed by the hospital staff.”
The woman on the bridge, who had a head injury and an injured hand from the car crash, told police Madison had offered her fentanyl, which she accepted and took, while he was driving the car. She said she fell asleep and “the wreck woke her up.” She said she fled with Madison from the crash “because she was confused,” according to court documents.
After the woman said she recalled seeing a black pistol in Madison’s vehicle, police obtained a search warrant for the car and found a semi-automatic pistol in the backseat along with fentanyl pills.
Madison was booked into the Lewis County Jail just before 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 20 and has since been charged with one count each of vehicular assault, hit-and-run with injuries and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
While law enforcement suspected Madison was driving under the influence (DUI) and obtained a warrant for a sample of Madison’s blood, Madison’s Lewis County Superior Court case did not include a DUI charge as of Monday afternoon.
During Madison’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, Halstead asked Judge Joely Yeager to maintain the $100,000 bail set in the warrant for the March case, set a consecutive $150,000 bail for the June case and set an additional $250,000 bail for the most recent case, for a total $500,000 bail amount.
While defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked Yeager to set bail no higher than $25,000 per case due to Madison’s financial situation, Yeager said she agreed with Halstead’s recommendation.
She cited “extreme community safety concerns” surrounding the allegations and concerns with Madison’s criminal history as reasons for the high bail amount.
After reading the court documents prior to Madison’s hearing, she said “$500,000 was what I was thinking when I walked in here.Mr. Halstead kind of hit it right on the head there.”
Madison’s next court appearance is an arraignment hearing scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 1.
