Man Accused of Eluding Police Up and Down Interstate 5 Said He Smoked Meth and Didn’t Want to Go to Jail

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A transient man who allegedly attempted to elude police up and down Interstate 5 in Centralia and Rochester made his preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.

Galen R. Whitmire, 28, was charged with attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle.

Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher requested that bail be set at $100,000.

“He has run in the past, he has eluded in the past, he has a bail jump in his record, he ran from police in this case … I don’t think there is any way the court can protect the public and make sure he shows back up again but to set high bail,” Meagher said.

Whitmire’s attorney for the day, Rachael Tiller, had nothing to report, saying Whitmire was unwilling to meet with her.

Judge Andrew Toynbee set bail at $100,000.

According to the probable cause report, on April 2, a Centralia police officer saw Whitmire fail to yield to a truck while driving westbound in the 100 block of Harrison Avenue.

The officer was able to identify Whitmire because he knew him from previous law enforcement-related contacts and also knew there was an active warrant for his arrest, according to the report.

The officer activated the sirens on his patrol car and Whitmire accelerated through a red light, driving around 50 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone.

According to the report, Whitmire then took the onramp to I-5 northbound accelerating to 120 miles per hour while weaving through traffic.

Whitmire got off at exit 88 and continued to lead on a chase in the Rochester area, swerving in and out of traffic and nearly colliding with another vehicle head-on while on Old Highway 99, according to the report.

Eventually, Whitmire headed back toward Centralia on I-5 southbound. Whitmire got off I-5 on Harrison Avenue but an officer had deployed a spike strip that deflated the tires on his vehicle’s passenger side.

Whitmire stopped the vehicle and was detained. According to the report, Whitmire told police he ran because he did not want to go to prison and he had used meth that morning. 

Whitmire is scheduled to have his arraignment hearing on Thursday.