A Centralia man accused of trying to hit an officer’s vehicle at a high speed with a stolen truck during a pursuit Wednesday night has been charged with first-degree assault.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Max J. Patino, 27, was reportedly attempting to evade a marked Centralia Police Department patrol vehicle driven by Officer Deter Voetberg, who was attempting to pull over the Ford F-250 Patino was driving.
The vehicle was reported stolen from a repair shop in the 800 block of Tower Avenue earlier that day.
Officers did not identify the driver as Patino until after he was captured, according to court documents.
At one point during that initial pursuit, Patino allegedly “swerved both front wheels over the oncoming lane, toward Officer Voetberg, making eye contact with Officer Voetberg, and Officer Voetberg took evasive measures to avoid being struck by the driver,” according to court documents.
Voetberg later noted “he was in a much smaller vehicle than the (Ford) and recalled bracing for impact as he narrowly evaded collision.”
A witness later advised the Ford was driving at roughly 80 mph.
The witness “described seeing the driver (of the Ford) turn as if he was trying to hit Officer Voetberg and advised that if Officer Voetberg did not move out of the way, the truck would have hit and possibly killed the officer,” according to court documents.
Officers continued to pursue the driver of the stolen Ford as the vehicle sped up to 60 mph in a 35 mph zone, according to court documents. Attempts to deploy spike strips were unsuccessful and Patino drove the vehicle on gravel through a construction zone, eventually jumping out of the driver’s seat and running up a muddy embankment on foot, according to court documents.
A K9 was deployed, prompting Patino to fall out of a tree.
There was an unrelated Lewis County Superior Court warrant out for Patino’s arrest at the time of the incident, according to court documents. While placing him under arrest and searching the stolen Ford, officers reportedly located a cash drawer from a Chehalis restaurant that was burglarized earlier that day. That burglary was still under investigation as of Thursday afternoon.
Patino was booked into the Lewis County Jail just before 1:25 a.m. on Sept. 15.
In addition to the first-degree assault charge, Patino has been charged with one count each of possession of a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle.
His preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court was held at 4 p.m. Thursday, where Judge J. Andrew Toynbee set Patino’s bail at $300,000.
The deputy prosecutor had recommended bail be set at $1 million, while Patino’s defense attorney asked bail to be set no higher than $150,000.
“I do believe high bail is necessary given the facts of this case, the fact that he was on warrant status and his cooperation with the police, or lack thereof,” said Toynbee on Thursday.
Patino’s next court appearance is an arraignment hearing scheduled for Sept. 22.
