A man accused of ramming a Centralia Police Department patrol vehicle with a stolen truck on Wednesday is facing felony charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
Officers with the Centralia Police Department found the stolen vehicle, a black 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup, in a parking lot in the 100 block of West High Street just after 12:20 p.m. on May 1, according to police call logs.
Two people were reportedly inside the vehicle when officers found it, according to court documents.
A patrol officer used his vehicle to “pin the vehicle in” and prevent it from leaving the scene.
The driver of the stolen vehicle, later identified as Brandon C. Rew, 32, of Tacoma, allegedly “rammed the patrol vehicle in an attempt to get away, and when that did not work, he exited the stolen vehicle and ran on foot,” according to the Centralia Police Department.
One officer and K9 Pax were in the patrol car at the time of the incident, according to court documents.
Charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday allege that Rew rammed the officer’s patrol car once and had “backed up to get another run at (the patrol car)” when the officer “pulled his vehicle forward and pinned the truck against the fence.”
The officer reportedly “tackled (Rew) and pinned him to the ground” after Rew fled the vehicle on foot.
After getting permission from the stolen car’s owner to search the vehicle, officers located a Social Security card that didn’t belong to either Rew or the vehicle’s passenger. They also found two checks, one for $833.27 and one for $3,496, made out to different people.
“Once the owners of these checks are located and interviewed, this charging information may be amended,” the prosecutor’s office stated in charging documents filed on Thursday.
When questioned, the passenger in the stolen vehicle allegedly “said an unknown guy asked them to help steal the vehicle out of a tow yard, then he gave them the truck,” according to court documents. The passenger was released at the scene.
Rew was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail just before 3:05 p.m. on May 1, according to jail records.
He was charged May 2 with one count each of second-degree assault, possession of a stolen vehicle, escape from community custody and resisting arrest.
“He does have a pretty horrendous record and his actions in this case are pretty egregious,” Judge J. Andrew Toynbee said during Rew’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday, where he set Rew’s bail at $50,000.
“I believe that this amount is sufficient to keep him coming to court and protect the community,” Toynbee said.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, May 9.
