A criminal suspect makes his preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court via video call.
A Seattle man who allegedly shoplifted from a store in Chehalis, assaulted a store employee and hit a car as he fled the scene made his preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday.
John D. McCarver, 26, was charged with second-degree theft and hit and run of an attended vehicle.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office requested bail be set at $25,000, citing McCarver’s alleged offenses, his criminal history and two active municipal warrants.
“Only criminal history he has … is a (second-degree) theft in 2000, a (second-degree) burglary in 2019 and then those theft matters that warrants are out on in municipal courts,” Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said.
McCarver’s attorney for the day, Rachael Tiller, requested the bail be unsecured, allowing him to be out of custody.
Judge James Lawler agreed with the defendant and set the bail at $20,000 unsecured.
According to the probable cause report, police were dispatched to the Home Depot in Chehalis where McCarver had allegedly assaulted a loss-prevention employee when he was confronted about shoplifting on Sunday.
The employee later told police he saw McCarver pulling a hand truck with a bunch of tools on it out the door without paying for anything. When the employee attempted to stop McCarver from fleeing, he allegedly kicked and pushed the employee over.
According to the report, the total value of the merchandise McCarver allegedly took was approximately $893.
McCarver then ran to a parked U-Haul truck and fled the scene towards Interstate 5, according to the report. As McCarver was exiting the parking lot, he allegedly hit another truck. The driver of the truck McCarver hit was not injured.
Later, an officer found the U-Haul truck at the south end of the parking lot with a man next to the vehicle, according to the report. The man told police he had hitched a ride with McCarver and that McCarver went into the store without him.
Police found McCarver hiding in a bush a little while later, according to the report.
McCarver’s arraignment hearing is scheduled for May 14.
