By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The 29-year-old man who led police on a pursuit from Centralia to Portland over the weekend reportedly told an officer he fled because he had a suspended driver’s license.
Henry Herrera-Montealegre was brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday afternoon, charged with one count of attempting to elude. The offense is a class C felony, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Judge James Lawler ordered the Centralia resident held on $20,000 bail. His arraignment is tomorrow.
Centralia police reported on New Year’s Day that an officer tried to pull over a suspected drunk driver at North Pearl and First streets about 2:20 a.m. but the vehicle sped away.
Charging documents in the case indicate Officer Angie Humphrey first spotted him at the 100 block of East Cherry Street about 1:50 a.m. and followed him up North Tower Avenue where she activated her overhead lights.
The documents state the car pulled to the curb and slowed, but then immediately pulled away, crossing both lanes of traffic and turning westbound on to Second Street.
From there, the car allegedly traveled in excess of 60 mph onto Harrison Avenue and ran a red light to enter southbound Interstate 5.
Law enforcement officers from the Chehalis Police Department, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol joined in the chase, with the driver traveling as much as 80 mph and avoiding spike strips once in Lewis County, the documents relate.
Officer Humphrey disengaged and the vehicle was pursued in to Portland where it was stopped.
The affidavit of probable cause offers no information about what occurred in Cowlitz or Clark counties.
Herrera-Montealegre, the sole occupant, was apprehended and booked into the Multnomah County Jail for attempting to elude by vehicle. They released him the same day on his own recognizance.
The following day, local officers located him near his home in Centralia and questioned him before making the arrest on the local charge.
” … (H)e admitted he drove away from Officer Humphrey because he had a suspended license,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in the court documents.
Centralia police initially indicated Herrera-Montealegre could be facing also a charge of driving without a required interlock device. His license was suspended in the first degree.
Prosecutors say Herrera-Montealegre has convictions for driving under the influence in 2007 and 2004.
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For background, read “Centralia resident arrested after roughly 100-mile police chase” from Friday January 1, 2016, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter