One suspect was taken into custody Wednesday evening after he and an unidentified second suspect allegedly held a man at gunpoint and forced him to drive the suspects from Chehalis south on Interstate 5, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
No injuries were reported and the firearm was recovered.
The Chehalis Police Department was dispatched to the 500 block of Northwest Chamber Way just before 9:15 p.m. on May 17 for a report of a stolen vehicle being driven southbound on I-5, according to a news release from the department.
“After further investigation, it was discovered the victim was reportedly held at gunpoint and was told to drive the two suspects south. The suspects were described as two black males, one with a face tattoo,” Chehalis police stated in the news release.
With the assistance of neighboring agencies, the vehicle was located and one suspect — identified as James Hobbs-Fletcher — was taken into custody.
He was booked into the Lewis County Jail just after 2:05 a.m. on Thursday, May 18, for first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, felony harassment, second-degree malicious mischief and vehicle theft, according to jail records. Charges are expected to be filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday afternoon, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for 4 p.m.
“The Chehalis Police Department would like to thank all agencies that provided assistance, Clark County, Cowlitz County, Washington State Patrol, Woodland, Kalama and Castle Rock,” the department said in a news release.
The second suspect, described as “a heavy-set black male wearing a white shirt,” has not been located, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
His last known location was in the milepost 45 to 50 area of I-5 near Castle Rock.
The Chehalis Police Department asks anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have information to contact them at 360-748-8605 or contact dispatch at 360-740-1105.
