Bail set at $500,000 for three suspects jailed after chase in East Lewis County 

A Lewis County Superior Court judge set bail at $500,000 for three men arrested following a chase in East Lewis County that ended when a pursuing deputy executed a PIT maneuver and caused their fleeing vehicle to crash last Thursday. 

The men are accused of traveling to Washington from the southeast United States to carry out a sophisticated criminal operation that involved defrauding individuals out of thousands of dollars through bank transactions. 

A woman who was in the vehicle at the time of the crash has also been charged with crimes, but to a lesser degree than co-defendants Florisma Hyppolite, 30, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Dimitrius Daniels, 26, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Fredrick Edward Gordon, 26, of Greenville, South Carolina. 

The three men have all been charged with second-degree possession of stolen property, first-degree conspiracy to commit identity theft, forgery and first-degree conspiracy to commit theft, all Class C felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

Additionally, Hyppolite faces an additional charge of leading organized crime, which, if convicted, is punishable by up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine. Gordon faces an additional felony charge of attempting to elude. 

Hyppolite is accused of masterminding what Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely Yeager on Friday referred to as a “sophisticated” cross-country criminal enterprise that sought to defraud Washington residents out of thousands of dollars through fraudulent banking activity. 

Yeager set bail at $500,000 for each of the men during a hearing on Friday, noting the defendants’ lack of local ties and criminal history that involves several different states. 

The case

On June 11, Centralia Police Department officers responded to TwinStar Credit Union on Gold Street for a report of a man attempting to cash a check using a member’s identification that had been stolen. 

The man, Donald Homerding, was arrested for his attempts to cash the check, which would have resulted in losses of more than $5,000 for the account holder. Investigators learned that Homerding had been dropped off at the credit union by a black Chevrolet Tahoe with Oregon license plates that had been rented from Enterprise. Homerding was booked into the Lewis County Jail. His bail was set at $100,000 during a hearing in Lewis County Superior Court Thursday.

A Centralia police detective contacted Enterprise and learned the vehicle was rented by a “Crystal Foster” on June 8 and it was expected to be returned by June 14. The detective spoke with Homerding while he was being evaluated at Providence Centralia Hospital following his arrest. Homerding said he was homeless and living in Florida when he was approached by a group of females offering him a job opportunity in what he believed to be the home remodeling business. 

Homerding said he accepted the job and was provided with a “large sum of money and a plane ticket to Seattle, where he was picked up by ‘Jason’ in the Tahoe.” Homerding claims he was given a room at a Motel 6 in Seattle and was picked up the following morning. He said “Jason” was driving and a man named James was in the back seat. Another man Homerding didn’t know was in the front seat, according to court documents. 

“Homerding said ‘Jason’ drove him to three different banks where he was provided multiple checks from an occupant in the vehicle,” according to the affidavit of probable cause. “He cashed these checks and received an estimated $17,000, which was provided to the males inside the vehicle. He said that they would provide him with marijuana and cocaine. Homerding said that his phone had contact information for ‘James.’ A check on the phone number showed it belonged to Dimitrius Daniel from Florida. A search warrant was obtained for Homerding's phone and contact information for ‘Jason’ and ‘James’ was obtained.”

On June 12, a Flock Security camera showed the Tahoe was in Tacoma, and it was later located at a Hampton Inn. A Centralia police sergeant saw two Black males exit the vehicle while at a marijuana store. After they reentered the vehicle, the sergeant attempted to block their vehicle in, but the Tahoe jumped the curb and drove away. 

“The Tahoe was observed to be occupied by four individuals,” the affidavit states. “A check of camera footage from the Hampton Inn showed the occupants were three Black males and one white female. Another check of Flock cameras showed the vehicle now near Lakewood, but the vehicle was not able to be located. Calls from citizens began to come in reporting a sock being thrown from a black Tahoe. (The sergeant) obtained this item and saw the sock contained a checkbook belonging to a business and a phone. It was also learned that the group had been kicked out of the Hampton Inn because they attempted to use a stolen credit card.”

A warrant for the vehicle’s location through Enterprise was later obtained and showed the vehicle was in the Packwood area. It was located by Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza traveling west on U.S. Highway 12 near Morton. The vehicle fled when Snaza attempted a traffic stop. He followed the vehicle for several miles, passing Mossyrock, before a deputy executed a PIT maneuver and the Tahoe crashed. 

“During the pursuit, the occupants were throwing items from the vehicle,” according to the affidavit of probable cause. “These items were later recovered and included ID cards, checks, and a wig. Large sums of cash were also recovered from the driver and passenger. The male driver refused to provide his name — he would later be identified as Fredrick Gordon. Gordon was found to have active felony warrants out of Florida. Another occupant of the vehicle initially refused to identify himself but was eventually identified as Florisma Hyppolite, from Florida. He was found to have an active warrant from Florida for Burglary (bail set at $75,000). A third occupant was also verbally identified as Dimitrius Daniel. He was asked about the money in the vehicle and said he won it at a casino. Daniel was found to have an active warrant from Pennsylvania for larceny. The last person was a female identified as Sara Olson. She was advised of Miranda warnings and said she was homeless and had met the other three males in Portland 1-2 months prior. She said after meeting them, she was cashing checks they had given her at multiple banks. She said that she did not come to Centralia on June 11 with the others, advising that she was in the motel that day. She said that she was provided drugs by the other three males. A search warrant for the vehicle was obtained and multiple duffle bags were located containing newer clothing, additional ID cards, phones, and drug paraphernalia. Small denominations of money were also recovered throughout the vehicle.”

Investigators consider Hyppolite to be the “mastermind” who directed others involved in the scheme, according to court documents. He’s allegedly been committing similar frauds for about eight years, and a source reportedly said he “has people in Chicago and Florida doing the same type of thing.”

Olson has pending felony charges of hit-and-run and organized retail theft in Cowlitz County, both with active warrants. She is being held in the Lewis County Jail with bail set at $10,000 as she faces charges of first-degree identity theft and first-degree conspiracy to commit theft. 

Daniels has no Washington criminal history but has been the subject of arrests and convictions in Florida and Illinois. 

Hyppolite also has no Washington criminal history but has numerous arrests and convictions in Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Georgia, Alabama and Illinois. 

Gordon likewise has no Washington criminal history but has had multiple arrests and convictions in Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina. 

All of the defendants are next due in court on June 26 for case reviews.