After being detained in the back of a patrol vehicle in Chehalis Aug. 3 on suspicion of driving under the influence, a 45-year-old Seattle man allegedly attempted to lower his blood alcohol content by relieving his bladder.
“I was trying to pee in your car so my, uh, my alcohol level was smaller,” said Jordan Christopher Biggs, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by prosecutors in Lewis County Superior Court.
A Washington State Patrol trooper observed “urine pouring down the side of his patrol vehicle” when he opened the door, along with puddles in the seat and on the floor after Biggs stepped out. Video from the vehicle confirmed Biggs had purposefully urinated in the vehicle, according to court documents.
A state patrol rapid response team had to travel to the Chehalis field office to clean and decontaminate the vehicle.
So along with a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence, Biggs has been charged with first-degree malicious mischief, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. The charge is used when a defendant is accused of physically damaging or tampering with an emergency vehicle.
Biggs made his preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, Aug. 4, when Judge Paul Strophy set his bail at $50,000.
According to court documents, a Chehalis officer observed Biggs parked in the middle of traffic on Northwest Pacific Avenue on Aug. 3. Vehicles were traveling around the Cadillac Escalade when the officer saw the driver, Biggs, with a phone in his right hand.
When the officer activated his emergency lights, the Escalade turned on Northwest Chehalis Avenue, accelerated at a high rate of speed and abruptly swerved toward the parking spaces at the Lewis County Community Development Building, hopping the curb and coming to a stop in two parking spaces, according to court documents.
The officer identified the driver as Biggs and noted he had a strong odor of intoxicants, slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes. Biggs was allegedly unsteady on his feet and leaning against the vehicle, though he agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tests before giving up 10 seconds later, according to court documents.
Biggs allegedly refused to provide a breath sample. While working on a warrant to test Biggs’ blood for alcohol, he allegedly asked to use the restroom. That’s when the trooper let Biggs out of the vehicle and noticed the urine.
Biggs was booked into the Lewis County Jail. He has prior completed deferred prosecution for DUI in 2003 and had a DUI reduced to a negligent driving charge in 2002.
Biggs was still being held in the Lewis County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon. His arraignment and trial setting hearing is set for Thursday, Aug. 7.
