The 20-year-old California man accused of fleeing his vehicle following a high-speed police pursuit on Interstate 5 in Lewis County Jan. 18 has been charged with nine crimes.
According to police, the suspect was located inside a shipping container in Napavine.
A subsequent search of his vehicle allegedly yielded hundreds of suspected stolen checks and pieces of mail, along with evidence of other criminal activity.
The charges
Emmanuel C. Coa, of Santa Clara, faces one count each of the following charges: attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, first-degree identity theft, possession of stolen mail, minor driving after consuming marijuana, possession of marijuana by person under 21 years of age, third-degree possession of stolen property, first-degree criminal trespass, hit-and-run of an attended vehicle and reckless driving.
First-degree identity theft carries the greatest maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. The charges of eluding and possession of stolen mail are also felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison. The rest are considered either gross or simple misdemeanors.
Coa was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail Sunday morning, Jan. 18. He made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
During the hearing, Judge Joely Yeager called the alleged incident “probably one of the worst eludes I’ve ever seen,” before setting Coa’s bail at $50,000 cash or bond.
Before Yeager’s ruling, Coa, who appeared virtually from the Lewis County Jail, began to read from a prepared statement — against the recommendation of both his defense and the judge.
“I understand the seriousness of the charges before the court and I do not take them lightly,” Coa said. “However, I would like to point out that there were no serious — “
At that point, Coa cut himself off, saying he would like to remain silent.
Rachael Tiller, Coa’s attorney for the day, said she appreciated Coa “exercising that right.”
“I think that was very wise, Mr. Coa,” Yeager said in agreement.
The chase
According to the probable cause affidavit, the incident began when a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper observed a Mitsubishi Outlander with Oregon plates traveling northbound near milepost 65 on I-5 at speeds of roughly 90 mph.
The trooper noted the Outlander did not have its taillights on, despite the dark and foggy conditions. He pursued the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop.
“As I was going to exit my vehicle, the driver accelerated away from me at a high rate of speed,” the trooper states in the affidavit. “I put my car into drive and initiated a pursuit.”
According to the trooper, the vehicle accelerated to speeds of 100 mph, cutting between a semi-truck and a Ford pickup, before pushing to nearly 120 mph.
The suspect then took Exit 68 toward state Route 12, running the stop sign before returning to I-5 at speeds again approaching 120 mph, the trooper states.
Back on I-5, Coa allegedly cut between a different semi and pickup truck while changing lanes.
“At the same time he was changing lanes to the right, he passed a disabled pickup truck towing a boat trailer, with occupants standing outside their vehicle,” the trooper states.
According to the trooper, the suspect nearly collided into the disabled vehicle and pedestrians.
After taking Exit 71, Coa allegedly ran the stop sign while attempting to turn right onto state Route 508. Instead, he lost control of the vehicle and hit the front of a Ford F-150, which was reportedly occupied by two adults and a child.
The suspect continued driving through a grassy field until his vehicle got stuck in a ditch, according to the trooper. He then fled and ran toward Eagle Truck Plaza in Napavine.
The search
Officers from the WSP, Centralia Police Department, Chehalis Police Department, Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office and Lewis County Sheriff's Office arrived to assist in the search — including K9 Hector, the newest member of the Centralia department’s K9 unit.
During the search, the trooper and Hector reportedly observed fresh footprints heading toward nearby storage units. They entered the storage area, but found no one inside the units.
They did, however, find scuff marks on the steel gate of one of the units, “where it appeared someone had climbed over,” according to the affidavit.
“On the other side, the gravel had been disturbed as if someone landed there,” the trooper writes in the affidavit.
The Belgian Malinois continued tracking to a large shop containing shipping containers.
Hector and officers located Coa sitting inside one of the containers.
While speaking with a different trooper, Coa allegedly provided different names and birthdates for about 45 minutes before providing his real information. He said was going from Portland to Seattle to visit family. Troopers believed he was under the influence, and were granted a warrant for a blood draw that was taken at Centralia Providence Hospital.
Coa was then transported to jail.
Evidence of mail theft
From outside the Outlander, the troopers allegedly observed possible incriminating evidence, including a “large quantity of mail pieces” and packages believed to have been stolen, along with large duffel bags suspected of containing marijuana.
The actual owner of the vehicle — who is not Coa — may own several “cannabis-related” businesses, according to the affidavit.
Upon executing a search warrant inside the Outlander, officers allegedly discovered marijuana in various forms throughout the vehicle, a large duffel bag containing “hundreds of pieces of mail” and six “shipping bags containing hundreds of mail pieces and checks inside.”
“We found nearly 1,000 checks in about a dozen different envelopes labeled under ‘scores,’” the trooper states in the affidavit. “The monetary value of the checks ranged from a few dollars to one written out for $400,000.”
According to the trooper, the checks belonged to different people throughout Washington, Oregon and California, and were dated from January 2026 back to 2023.
Police estimate the victims number in the hundreds. The total monetary value of the checks is estimated between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000, according to the affidavit.
Police indicated they will continue to process the checks and victims.
“Additionally, we found approximately 1,000 different pieces of mail from different people across different cities in Washington, Oregon and California,” the affidavit states.
Officers allegedly found more potential evidence during the search, including bank cards belonging to different people, baseball trading cards, and an envelope containing pictures of driver licenses, social security cards and passports.
They also reportedly found a belt that had been “duct taped with the sticky part facing outwards.” The sticky substance appeared to match that which was on the mailed envelopes.
Troopers spoke to a sergeant from the Belmont Police Department in California, who said Coa “used a belt with duct tape to ‘fish’ mail out of boxes, rewrite or ‘wash’ checks and deposit them into an account,” the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, Coa has a history of “mail theft, stolen property, stolen checks and other similar crimes since December of 2023,” but has no apparent history in Washington.
Coa is scheduled for an arraignment on Jan. 22. He is prohibited from driving a motor vehicle while the case is pending.
Coa told the court Tuesday he intends to retain private defense counsel.
