A Rochester man is facing a felony charge after allegedly leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase from Lewis County to Pierce County, which began just after he was cited for “drifting” in truck stop parking lot in Napavine.
Donald R. Fletcher, 53, was charged Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court with attempting to elude a police vehicle, a class C felony.
Superior Court Judge Joely O’Rourke ordered Fletcher held on $25,000 bail pending future court hearings.
According to a declaration of probable cause prepared by a trooper with the Washington State Patrol, the trooper responded at 11:37 p.m. Wednesday to assist with a traffic stop near the intersection of Rush Road and Newaukum Valley Road.
Fletcher was accused of “driving at a high rate of speed, ‘drifting out of the parking lot of Love’s truck stop,” in a vehicle with non-functioning taillights, according to the report.
Fletcher was issued citations. A short time later, the Napavine officer was advised by dispatchers that Fletcher’s vehicle drove over the truck stop’s landscaping, damaging property.
While the Napavine officer followed up at the business, the trooper caught up with Fletcher’s vehicle on Newaukum Valley Road and followed it to northbound Interstate 5 where the suspect vehicle reached speeds of 100 miles per hour, according to the report. The trooper stopped the chase at milepost 81 of northbound I-5, where it was taken up by other agencies. Fletcher was eventually arrested in Pierce County. Details of his arrest were not available.
Fletcher was transported back to the Lewis County Jail after his arrest.
